Asian Tofu Vegetable Pancakes

Basic Ingredients

Soft tofu – Start with well-drained “soft tofu” for the perfect Chinese pancake texture. Unlike “firm tofu” like we used in our tofu turkey meatballs, a "soft tofu" gives the pancakes a silky smooth center.

Cornstarch – Binds all the delicious vegetables together with the tofu.  Clabber Girl brand cornstarch is certified gluten free.

Vegetables and Mushrooms of choice – Choose your favorites based on personal preference and what you have in your crisper. You will need a total of 9 tablespoons of raw veggies. We used bamboo shoots, red bell peppers, green onions, and mushrooms. The best types of vegetables are quick to cook veggies without a high moisture content. Tomatoes are not a good addition as these are too wet. If you choose firm vegetables like carrots, they will need to be cooked until fork tender before putting in the vegetable pancake batter.

Soy Sauce – adds a savory umami flavor to the vegetable pancakes. Please use coconut aminos or tamari sauce to stay gluten free.

Chinese 5 Spice Powder – is a unique spiced made with ground anise, fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon. This spice blend adds depth and flavor to our Chinese beef noodle soup, vegan radish cake and more.

Orange zest – the secret ingredient that brightens up this Cantonese dim sum recipe. We first had these little Chinese pancakes in the Chi Lin Vegetarian restaurant (a hidden gem) located in the beautiful Nan Lian Garden in Hong Kong (HK) within the Chi Lin Nunnery. This Buddhist Cantonese restaurant uses crushed dried tangerine peel in their tofu pancakes. We substituted orange zest for the dried orange peel as it is easier to find at your local grocery store.

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

Soy Sauce – or Coconut Aminos or tamari sauce to stay gluten free.

Garlic – choose fresh garlic for the best flavor, but you can substitute it with dried ground garlic powder if needed.

Ginger – freshly peeled and grated ginger is best, but you can also substitute it with dried ground ginger. Dried ground ginger is stronger and more concentrated than fresh ginger. For every 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, you can exchange with ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger.

Chinese Black Vinegar – (Chinkiang vinegar) or can substitute with a light rice vinegar. The vinegar gives it that addictive tang.

Sesame oil – adds a toasty nutty flavor to the dipping sauce. If you like it spicy, add a little garlic chili oil.

How to make Savory Tofu Pancake Batter?

• Chop vegetables and mushrooms

• Add salt to the tofu to a bowl. Allow it to marinate for about 5 minutes and drain it well.
• Mash the tofu with a fork. Then, add enough cornstarch so it reaches a consistency thicker than ricotta cheese.
• Saute the vegetables and mushrooms until soft and aromatic. Then add soy sauce (coconut aminos), spices and orange zest.
• Add the cooked vegetable mixture into the tofu puree and season to taste.

• Spray or dab non-stick frying pan with oil. On a medium – low heat, add a heaping tablespoon of tofu vegetable pancake batter into your non-stick pan and spread it carefully into a circle shape.
• Saute vegetable pancake on both sides for about 2-3 minutes or until crispy on the outside and golden.

Recipe Tips

• Use soft tofu instead of firm tofu for these savory pancakes. This gives these Chinese pancakes a silky-smooth interior texture.
• Allow the tofu to drain well or use a tofu press.
• Add enough cornstarch so that the consistency is thicker than ricotta cheese. The tofu pancake mixture should be thick enough to hold on the spoon, if you tilt it sideways. Depending on how well you drained your tofu, you may have to add less or more cornstarch to get to this consistency. In addition, every tofu brand has a different water content.
• Be sure to fry the vegetables until soft. After you add the soy sauce, cook until evaporated.
• Use a non-stick pan for the best results.
• Do not add a lot of oil, just enough so the batter does not stick to the pan. This step keeps the savory Asian pancakes light and healthy.
• We suggest keeping space in between the pancakes to make them easier to turn and do not make them too large.
• Be gentle when flipping vegetable pancakes made with tofu as they are fragile. It may take you a couple of tries to perfect the process.
• Lastly, if the pancakes are falling apart, you probably need to add more cornstarch as a binder.