Veggie Spring Roll Pancake Wedges with a Sesame-Tamari Dip (Gluten-Free)

We have been loving these lately! I was inspired by these Korean Veggie Pancakes or Pajun from A Spicy Perspective which just looked soooo good. The finely shredded vegetables in them though reminded me of my Veggie Spring Roll filling though so I decided to make these like spring roll pancakes, so you get all the great flavour of spring rolls in pancake form! The only thing from my spring rolls that I didn't add was the bean sprouts as I thought they would take up too much room and upset the texture. Then I added a dip with the seasonings I usually add to my spring rolls - soy sauce and toasted sesame oil.

Her recipe called for egg so I thought I would just use my regular vegan pancake recipe, sans sugar, for the base but opted to try rice flour in place of plain flour as my spring rolls do have rice noodles in them. I am so glad I did as the taste and texture of these using rice flour is just perfect! Light and fluffy and the rice flavour compliments the spring roll components wonderfully. It also just happened to make these gluten free, so that was a nice bonus :-)

These are also very easy to make but please note that the size of the pan you use is absolutely crucial! These are best when they aren't too thick, I've used a 10" non-stick frying pan here which is perfect for this amount of batter, but I'm sure you could use a 12" frying pan as well. Make sure the pan has fairly low sides that slope to ease flipping.

I have also made this as an individual pancake using a smaller pan. If you want an individual serving just divide the recipe by ¼ and use a 6" frying pan but please note that having leftovers of these is not a problem at all. They both re-heat brilliantly AND even taste great cold - they would make great picnic food :-) To reheat simply pan fry until hot on both sides.

I should also note that you are looking at photos here from about 3 separate photo shoots! The first couple times I was pouring the batter into the frying pan over the veg but now I mix the veg in with the batter first. So some of the pics show more veg on top - those are the early versions. Both ways taste the same but it's easier to make and eat if you mix the veg with the batter first. (Just in case you wondering why all the wedges don't look the same!)

Veggie Spring Roll Pancake Wedges with Tamari-Sesame Dip 

Serves 4 as a light meal, 3 comfortably, 2 if you're really hungry :-)

200g organic white rice flour – 1¼ cups
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
½ tsp salt
160ml unsweetened soy milk - 2/3 cup 
180ml sparkling water - ¾ cup
1 Tbsp peanut oil
•
1 Tbsp Peanut oil
80g Chinese or Sweetheart cabbage, sliced fine
1 carrot, sliced into matchsticks – 80g
1 red pepper, sliced fine and into matchsticks – 80g
2 spring onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 red or green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Note: As long as you use a total around 200g - 250g of veggies you can use whatever quick cooking veg you like here as long as they are sliced thin. I've made this with tenderstem broccoli and green beans in place of the cabbage and red peppers for example.

1. Get all the veg chopped and ready - garlic, ginger and chili on the left there, carrots, red pepper, cabbage and spring onions on the right.
2. Make the batter: Whisk together the rice flour, baking powder and salt. Add the soy milk and sparkling water and whisk really well until smooth. Set aside.
3.Heat the peanut oil in a wok add all the veg and some freshly ground black pepper and stir fry on high heat until soft and the cabbage has wilted. This should take no longer than 4-5 minutes but make sure there is no liquid left, if the veg start to stick to the pan that's perfect.
4. Place your 10" non-stick frying pan on medium heat and brush with a little peanut oil.

 4. Now add all the veg to the batter and give it a quick stir with a fork then quickly tip it onto the preheated frying pan, spreading it out with a spatula so that it fills the pan and is nice and even.

...and let it bubble away!

5. Fry until golden brown underneath, you can peek by sliding a knife underneath to have a look but also, the pancake edges should be firm and cooked and even the whole top of the pancake should start to look fairly set. Before you move the pancake, make sure it isn't stuck at all by carefully sliding a spatula around the edges and underneath to loosen. Then shake the pan back and forth, if the pancake moves from side to side then it's ready to flip. Do NOT try and flip this if the pancake doesn't slide around in the pan!! 

Note: if you aren't too confident in flipping this you can pop it under a pre-heated grill to cook the other side. When I do this I do still fry the other side to get it crispy but since it's already cooked and firm on both sides, flipping it will be a breeze :-) Just make sure your frying pan is grill safe.

6. Slide the pancake onto a large plate and add a little more peanut oil to the frying pan. Now, put on some oven mitts and place the frying pan over the plate and flip the whole thing over - frying pan and plate so that the uncooked side is down on the frying pan. Remove the plate.

7. Fry the other side of the pancake until crisp and golden. Slide onto a chopping board and slice into wedges and serve with the tamari-sesame dip.

Now the dip is essential here. With the exception of a little salt in the batter there is no seasoning in the pancake, that's what the dip is for. My spring rolls call for soy sauce and sesame oil in the mixture so I've opted for those flavours here as well. I also threw in some sesame seeds like A Spicy Perspective did and they really add to it.

Sesame-Tamari Dip:

¼ cup soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp Sweet Freedom Syrup (vegan honey) or use light agave.
4 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

Simply whisk all together. If you find it a little strong, feel free to add some water...I do love my soy sauce:-) I should also note that I personally prefer this taste wise with soy sauce but the difference is negligible. 

They made a great casual dinner with some chilled beer, something light and bubbly would be perfect :-)

Nutritional Information: for 1 serving out of 4, dip not included.

Calories: 255

Protein: 4.5g

Fat: 8.1g

Sat Fat: 1.2g

Fibre: 3.2g

Carbs: 40g

Sugar: 3.5g

Sodium: 129mg

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