Summer Traditions of Japan & Recipe For Vegan Takoyaki

Natsu no Fuubutsu Shi  (Summer Traditions.)

夏の風物詩/なつのふうぶつし

A faint tinkling sound of a fuurin wind chime, the smell of an incense coil, cicadas emerge from the soil and announce “Summer is here in Japan”!

Although typically hot, the exact weather does vary depending on which part of Japan you’re visiting. Okinawa in the south can be tropically hot, while the island of Hokkaido in the north is generally a lot cooler.

For most parts of Japan with its hot humid weather, summer is full of seasonal festivals, food and customs that go hand in hand with beating the heat.

If you have visited Japan during the summertime you might have seen some of them yourselves or tasted some of the foods from kakigori かき氷 shaved ice with syrup poured on top to watery thin Somen (素麺/そうめん) noodles eaten with a cold dipping broth.

You may of quenched your thirst with Ramune or barley tea known as Mugicha a standard cold tea in the refrigerator in many Japanese homes over the summer as it helps to recover from  fatigue and dehydration.

You may even of dressed like a local in a traditional cotton yukata (浴衣) to help keep you cool on a warm summer night at a firework festival.

Summer in Japan are synonymous with summer fireworks, known as Hanabi 花火. Unlike other countries hanabi are a summertime event . Fireworks festivals or Hanabi Taikai (花火大会/はなびたいかい) are held in various parts of Japan from July to August, and more than 10,000 fireworks are launched in the night sky in many places.

I visited one of the best firework shows which takes place in Tokyo, on the banks of the Sumida river near Asakusa on the last Saturday of July. Sumidagawa is the oldest fireworks festival in the world which was founded in 1732 and there are about a million visitors each year. Many people were dressed in their yukata and came equipped with a much needed uchiwa paddle fan.

Festivals are called Omatsuri (お祭り/おまつり) in Japanese and most of the summer festivals take place from June to August. Although there are countless festivals to choose from over the summer there are a few that are the main event.

One of the country’s biggest traditional and most famous festivals in all of Japan is Gion Matsuri  which takes place in July, dating back to 869. The celebration lights up the city of Kyoto and takes over the whole city for about a month. The main processions take place on two different days, with the grand procession of 34 floats – Yamaboko Junko being so spectacular.

You could also visit Nebuta Matsuri which takes place in Aomori City each year at the start of August. The parade takes place with a procession of dozens of giant lantern floats depicting gods and mythical creatures.

The river procession with fireworks festival Tenjin Matsuri is also on japans top 5 summer festivals taking place annually in Osaka in late July. The festival first started in the 10th century in honor of the main deity (Sugawara Michizane) of the Tenmangu shrine, with a procession of festival boats down the river.

Even if you do not visit one of the main summer festivals in Japan you might, like I did one summer in Tokyo just come across one by accident. This is also one of the best opportunities you’ll get to mingle with the locals and get the most out of the event by joining in with the crowds.

Japanese festivals can be related to local shrines and temples and many hold their own festivals to celebrate and show the appreciation to the gods.

Omikoshi (御神輿/おみこし) is a portable shrine vehicle of the gods when they go on the journey.

People bear the mikoshi on their shoulders and  bring the mikoshi from the shrine and carry it around the neighborhoods that worship at the shrine to give divine virtues to houses. During the event there maybe streets food stalls, dancing, drumming and generally a lively atmosphere and unique festivities.

You will notice the focus on the otherworld when attending a summer festival in Japan.

Obon お盆, is a tradition to honour the spirits of the ancestors and it’s one of the biggest events during the summer.

The 4 days between August 13th and 16th are generally known to be the Obon period, an important buddhist tradition that has been celebrated for more than 500 years to respect the spirits of the ancestors. According to Japanese legends, this is when the spirits of the ancestors come back to visit earth known as sato-gaeri, or “returning home” and many of the traditional festivals that take place are in honour of these spirits. Obon starts with welcoming fires (mukaebi 迎え火) lanterns known as chochin may also be lit outside people’s houses to guide the spirits home. Food offerings (osonae/ozen お供え／御膳)  are made maybe on a family alter or tokonoma. It could be the person favourite food or seasonal produce. During this period people pay respects at family graves this is known as  (ohakamaeri お墓前り)

It is not a somber time but a time to reflect and celebrate some one’s life. The obon celebrations often involves a special matsuri where people may dress up in their finest Yukata and dance a celebration dance known as (bon odori 盆踊). This matsuri is a time for families to get together and enjoy lots of street food like Okonomiyaki, yakisoba and takoyaki.

You can read further about Obon and its traditions on a previous blog post “Obon & how to celebrate even if you are not in Japan”.

I decided this year I would try to replicate one of japans most favourite matsuri street foods “Takoyaki” to celebrate Obon. Tako means octopus and yaki means grill or fry.

Takoyaki たこ焼き Grilled Octopus Balls are a small dumplings crispy on the outside and gooey inside with a piece of octopus in the middle. Takoyaki originated in 1935 in Osaka, with a street vendor called Aizu-ya (会津屋).

However my recipe will be completely vegan using tofu for the batter and strips of umami rich shiitake mushrooms instead of octopus.

To cook authentic takoyaki with a crispy surface and a thick filling you’re going to need a special Takoyaki pan たこ焼き器, typically a griddle made of cast iron with semi-sphere moulds that sits over a stove top. Mine is a takoyaki grill plate made by iwatani. These can be purchased on line quite easily and they are reasonably priced.

Unlike other tofu Takoyaki recipes I have seen on line I am going to use the tofu to make the batter and add the filling inside. For an authentic filling I’m going for pickled ginger and chopped green onion along with rehydrated shiitake mushrooms to mimic the rubbery octopus texture.

You will need to make a cold brew of kombu shiitake dashi. Simply add two dried shiitake and a small one inch strip of kombu to a large glass of water and let it sit over night.

The next day remove the kombu and using a fine-mesh sieve, drain the dashi into a bowl to catch any bits, then slice the shiitake into small pieces to use later.

You will also need a green onion and Beni shōga (Japanese red pickled ginger) chopped finely for your filling.

I’m using the soft variety of “Shizenno Megumi” tofu for this recipe it has a creamy flavour and is going to work really well in making a nice batter mix. The tofu is hand crafted in Devon using Japanese techniques by a small group of passionate members bringing traditionally made Japanese style tofu to the U.K.

You can read more about the story of this tofu on my blog post “Introducing Shizenno Megumi Tofu.”

You will need x1 pack of Shizenno Megumi soft tofu drained of liquid, wrap in a piece of kitchen towel to absorb any more liquid and add to a blender or food processor. Then add 2/3 cup of shiitake kombu dashi, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon of brown rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon of tamari or soy sauce then blend to combine.

In a bowl sift 1 cup of plain all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk the batter. Transfer the batter back to the blender to give it one final mix to get rid of any lumps.

Place the Takoyaki grill pan on medium heat and oil each mould and surface of the pan well with two tablespoons of neutral oil. Generously brush the entire pan, the cavities and the flat areas with oil. The oil helps the takoyaki to have crispy skin and it will also be easier for you to flip without the batter being stuck.

When the pan starts to smoke fill each hole with the batter.

Add a little of the shiitake, pickled ginger and green onion filling into each mould, then cover with more batter if it overflows that’s ok.

Don’t be afraid of overfilling the pan. Professional takoyaki vendors always overfill the wells of the pan. You will eventually tuck in the excess batter underneath and it’ will still cook up a perfectly round dumpling.

Cook the bottoms for about 3-4 minutes. Once the bottom of the takoyaki balls is crispy, rotate 90 degrees to let the uncooked batter pour out into the hole. Stuff and push in the extra surrounding dough inside the balls. You can do this with two long skewers. Let it cook for about another 1-2 minutes. Continue to do this until you have a nice round shape and the outside is nice and crispy and golden.

Now for your topping and garnish

You can either buy ready made takoyaki sauce which is the same sweet sauce used for okonomiyaki, and tonkatsu. Or make your own sauce with a mix of one tablespoon each of vegan Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, tamari, mirin and maple syrup just add to a bowl and whisk to combine.

Original Takoyaki was eaten only with sweet sauce until the end of WWII. The owner of a takoyaki shop called Botejyu (ぼてじゅう) saw the American soldiers eating mayonnaise. He thought it could go well with Takoyaki and started serving mayonnaise in addition to the sweet sauce.

Kewpie mayonnaise is popular in Japan and there is now a vegan version you can use or use regular mayonnaise if you cannot find it in your local Asian grocery store or on line preferably in a squeezy bottle.

Remove your takoyaki from the pan and cover in the sweet sauce a drizzle of vegan mayonnaise and a sprinkle of aonori (青海苔), dried green laver seaweed flakes. A little furikake is nice too. If you would like to cook your takoyaki and eat them later just do not put the sauce on top. You can reheat them by popping them out the pan onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and heating them up in the oven before adding your toppings.
Serve street food style in a bamboo boat. 

Another garnish popular on takoyaki is Katsuobushi dried bonito flakes which are thin shavings of dehydrated fish so we will not be adding those to our vegan takoyaki.

Enjoy with an ice cold beer or something chilled of what you fancy

The takoyaki are just as good served with a salad and miso soup.

Have A Wonderful Summer!