Author: Mama Smoke

300g potato
250g firm tofu
3 sheets nori
Teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds

1. Finely grate potato (leave the skins on just ensure they’re washed) with a microplane and place in sieve to drain.

2. Chop tofu up finely then squash and spread the tofu using the flat part of your knife by squashing and dragging the tofu across your breadboard until all the tofu is flattened in to a squished paste. Do this with the whole batch two more times. Doing this three times is important because each time, the tofu becomes a little bit more glutinous resulting in a great texture.

3. Squeeze as much of the liquid out of the potato as possible then mix the potato and tofu together in a bowl.

4. Cut your Sheets of nori in to 8 or 10 rectangles.

5. Take a piece of nori and with the rough side facing up, flatten roughly a tablespoon worth of tofu mix on to the nori. For added texture and aesthetic appeal, score the piece of eel with a butter knife down the centre and then a few times on either side at an angle.

6. Lay the piece on a dry breadboard while you prepare the rest.

7. Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and add each piece nori side down. Cook until crispy, flip and cook the other side until crispy.

8. Serve topped with teriyaki sauce and a sprinkling of white sesame.

1 pack tofu
4 tablespoons corn flour
1 tablespoon Sichuan hot and spicy sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee brand)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chingkiang vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sliced coriander
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

1. Cut tofu in to ~2.5cm cubes

2. Dry with paper towel.

3. Put corn flour in bowl and coat tofu pieces.

4. Cook in sandwich press (you can cook two sides at a time this way) and turn to cook each side until crispy.

5. While the tofu is cooking, combine remaining ingredients to make sauce.

6. Plate tofu when cooked to your desired crispyness and drizzle with the Sichuan sauce. Serve the tofu with sauce on the side so bold players can go crazy with some extra dippy dippy!

700g cabbage, finely chopped
¼ cup pickled red ginger
4 spring onions, finely sliced (save the sliced tips for serving)
1 cup flour
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp baking powder
150g soft tofu
1 cup water
4tbsp flax meal
1tbsp mushroom powder
Oil

TOPPINGS:
Teriyaki sauce
Vegan mayo
Spring onions, finely sliced
Rice seasoning
Togarashi

1. Put chopped cabbage, red pickled ginger and the sliced spring onions (saving some of the green tips for garnishing) in a large bowl. Add flour, salt and baking powder and gently stir to combine.

2. In a blender, add tofu, water, flax and mushroom powder. Blend until smooth and pour in to bowl. Stir until combined evenly

3. Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan over med-high heat. Add approximately 1 cup of batter to the pan and squish down until it’s about 1.5cm thick. Cook until browned on one side and then flip to cook the other side. Transfer to a serving plate.

4. Brush or spoon over teriyaki sauce, top with mayo in a zig-zag pattern, sprinkle with rice seasoning, sliced spring onions and add togarashi to taste.

   Notes

   • Togarashi is a Japanese chilli. It has orange rind in it and it’s so good. Don’t limit your use of this to Japanese dishes.

   • Rice seasoning can be purchased from your Asian grocer and some supermarkets. It’s seaweedy, sesame seed goodness.

   • To anyone who has read this recipe and seen my video making okinomiyaki, did you notice that I do things in a slightly different order each time? In the written recipe, I add the dry mix to the cabbage then add the wet mix. In the vid I add the wet mix to the dry mix and then add that to to cabbage. The point is that slight changes don’t make a huge difference in most recipes. Try it, enjoy the process, taste as you go and feel proud of yourself you good thing!!