Japanese Pancakes with Dipping Sauce

A fun and easy dumpling recipe perfect for dinner, lunch or snacks. Make ahead of time for meal prep, freezer meals or devour them all fresh from the pan.

To make these a little more nutritious, make sure you use whole wheat flour as this eliminates the high processed starches. You can also use gluten free alternatives or oat flour, for example, for personal preference/ dietary requirements. I like it most with either almond mil or whole wheat flour because they also create an extra flavour compared with the normal white blenched flour (not to mention are also way better for you).

No stress if you don’t have all the ingredients, this recipe should be one that encourages home cooking with the beauty of substitution based on your accessibility or fridge contents.

Enjoy

xx

Japanese Cilantro, Scallion and Pepper dumplings

Inspired by The Fit Foodie

Ingredients

200 grams all purpose flour (better with whole wheat flour if you have it)

3 spring onions

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 egg

1 1/3 cup oat milk (or milk of choice)

1/2 cup canola oil

Chilis, cilantro, mint, Thai basil for serving

Japanese panko sauce

- 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

4 garlic cloves, grated

2 birds eye chilli

1 centimeter cube ginger, peeled and grated

2 spring onions, white and greens chopped

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp white caster sugar or palm sugar

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tbsp cornstarch

Method

To make the Pancakes; In a large bowl, combine and mix well the flour with the salt, cilantro, spring onions and spices. Make a well in the center and drop the egg along with half of the milk. Whisk until combined then add the remaining milk, mixing until a thick batter forms.

In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Dollop tablespoon full of batter into the water - cooking normally about 5-6 at a time to avoid crowding. When they rise to the top, ladle out with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper. Repeat until mixture has been used up.

Heat half the oil in a pan and place the boiled dumplings into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown and then flip, cooking again until golden. Repeat until all sides are golden brown then place onto kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. Repeat until all dumplings have been fried.

To make the sauce; In a medium pan, cook the garlic, chilli and ginger in the oil for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients, except for half of the spring onions, along with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 4-5 minutes on low heat until a thick sauce forms.

To serve; Place the fried dumplings on a serving platter and dish out the warm panko sauce into a ramekin, placing along side. Sprinkle desired garnishes and enjoy hot.