Almost Raw Vegan Japanese Black Sesame Flax Crackers

There are two types of people in the world. Sweet and savory. I am a savory person. Don’t get me wrong, I love sweets too, but savory is my jam. And savory with crunchy? Forget it. That’s my thing. My husband on the other hand, is a sweets guy through and through, so we make a good team. My all time favorite savory snacks are potato chips and rice crackers. You give me a bag, and I will give you an empty bag back! I took care of the potato chip fix with kale chips, so I needed something for my rice cracker cravings. And these fit the bill perfectly. So I give you, almost raw, vegan Japanese black sesame flax crackers.

These are a take on a Japanese black sesame rice crackers. If you go to the Japanese markets or Asian markets, you will find an aisle dedicated to rice crackers. Yes, like potato chips here. They have soy sauce, salt, black sesame, sugar, spicy ones, you name it. Black sesame are one of the popular flavors along with the soy sauce flavor. Several companies make them. The five bags in the center are all black sesame flavored, but there were more going down the aisle.

But here’s the sad thing. I can’t eat the authentic ones from Japan sold there. Why? Monosodium-glutimate aka MSG. Every single one I found in the market contains straight up MSG on the labels. They don’t even attempt to hide it like they do here under the name of yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, etc. If you are avoiding MSG and live in Japan or traveling there, look for the word “アミノ酸等” or “酵母エキス” in the ingredients list. That’s their code for MSG. Just so you know, it’s in EVERYTHING there. So if you want to start eliminating MSG from your diet while there, you have to only use whole ingredients. I know that’s too much for some, and sometimes ignorance can be bliss. What’s sad is, traditionally, the ingredients should only be rice, soy sauce, and black sesame seeds. But unfortunately, Asian foods are one of the worst offenders of artificial flavors. I get really frustrated at Asian markets, as they sell traditionally clean foods that are tainted with MSG, other artificial flavors and colors. Now, I only buy my rice and rice noodles there, and hold the authentic rice crackers for when I go back to Japan. There are old rice cracker shops that make and toast it fresh for you, and you can’t beat that. The cleanest rice crackers I found that I can eat are Trader Joe’s Oriental Rice Crackers. And they taste great, so go figure.

So that’s why I had to desperately make some version of it to satisfy my inner need for rice crackers. You may have noticed I named this “almost” raw vegan Japanese black sesame flax crackers. The “almost” part is because I had to use toasted black sesame seeds to get the flavor right. It’s about 78% raw. I tried it with raw black sesame seeds, but the flavors were much weaker than the toasted counterpart, and it just didn’t cut it. You could use raw black sesame seeds if you’d like, but I need to warn you. It will not taste like black sesame rice crackers at all. Doesn’t taste bad, but definitely not the same.

These Japanese black sesame flax crackers are full of nutrients. Flax seeds are packed in heart healthy Omega 3s, lignans, soluble and insoluble fiber. As many of you know, flax seeds gel when mixed with water, just like chia seeds. This property makes making flax crackers possible. Combined with the calcium, vitamin E, and antioxidants from black sesame seeds, these are pretty healthy, nutrient dense crackers.

Let’s get started! First, you need to soak the flax seeds. Mix water and flax seeds in a bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once the seeds soak up all the water, it’s ready. The picture below is just for you to see how it swells and gels, so you should just soak it in a bowl. You’ll have one less thing to clean up.

In the bowl, add the toasted black sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, tamari, and mix well until the sesame seeds are evenly distributed.

I will be using the dehydrator from here, but you can use the oven if you don’t own one. The oven instructions will be after the dehydrator instruction.

Using a dehydrator:

Line your dehydrator tray with a mesh sheet, then with a silicone sheet or a teflex sheet. Using a spatula, make round shapes in whatever size you like that are 1/8″ inch thick.

This shaping part is actually time consuming, so if you are in a hurry, you can just spread the mixture on the sheet, leaving some space from the edges. Then lightly score it into cracker sizes you like, so that you can break them easily later. I do this all the time when I don’t have the time or patience for hand making shapes.

Stick it in the dehydrator at 115°F for about 20 hours, until they’re completely dry. After several hours, check to see if the surface of the crackers are dry. If they are, you can flip it to speed up the drying process, and to dry them evenly. To flip the crackers, grab an extra tray and line it with a mesh sheet. Flip that onto the tray with flax crackers, so that on the crackers, there’s the mesh sheet, then the tray. Hold the 2 trays together on both sides with both hands, and flip the tray upside down. Take off the tray and mesh sheet on top. Then carefully peel the silicone or teflex sheet off the crackers.

Stick them back into the dehydrator and dry until completely crisp. There you have it!

Using an oven:

Pre-heat the oven at the lowest temperature setting. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Using a spatula, make round shapes in whatever size you like that are 1/8″ inch thick on to the parchment paper.

Put the tray in the oven and dry until completely crisp. My lowest temperature setting on my oven is 140℉ and it took 17 and a half hours. Check in between for dryness, and when the cracker surface is completely dry, you can carefully peel off the cracker and flip. If it’s not cooperating, you probably need to dry it some more. Dry them until they’re completely dry and you’re done!

Have these lovely sesame flax crackers with a nice cup of green tea! Makes a perfect afternoon snack. Make sure you chew them well to get all the nutrients flax seeds can give you.

Almost Raw Vegan Japanese Black Sesame Flax Crackers

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

20 hours

Total time

20 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Mariko Sakata

Cuisine: raw food, raw vegan, gluten-free

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown flax seeds
• ½ cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons tamari
• 1½ cups water

Instructions

1. Mix water and flax seeds in a bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once the seeds soak up all the water, it's ready.
2. In a bowl, add the toasted black sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, tamari, and mix well until the sesame seeds are evenly distributed.

Using a dehydrator:

1. Line your dehydrator tray with a mesh sheet, then with a silicone sheet or a teflex sheet.
2. Using a spatula, make round shapes in whatever size you like that are ⅛" inch thick. This shaping part is actually time consuming. If you are in a hurry, you can just spread the mixture on the sheet, leaving some space from the edges. Then lightly score it into cracker sizes you like, so that you can break them easily later.
3. Stick it in the dehydrator at 115°F for about 20 hours, until they're completely dry. After several hours, check to see if the surface of the crackers are dry. If they are, you can flip it to speed up the drying process, and to dry them evenly. To flip the crackers, grab an extra tray and line it with a mesh sheet. Flip that onto the tray with flax crackers, so that on the crackers, there's the mesh sheet, then the tray. Hold the 2 trays together on both sides with both hands, and flip the tray upside down. Take off the tray and mesh sheet on top. Then carefully peel the silicone or teflex sheet off the crackers.
4. Stick them back into the dehydrator and dry until completely crisp.

Using an oven:

1. Pre-heat the oven at the lowest temperature setting.
2. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Using a spatula, make round shapes in whatever size you like that are ⅛" inch thick on to the parchment paper.
3. Put the tray in the oven and dry until completely crisp. My lowest temperature setting on my oven is 140°F and it took 17 and a half hours. Check in between for dryness, and when the cracker surface is completely dry, you can carefully peel them off the parchment paper and flip. If it's not cooperating, you probably need to dry it some more.
4. Dry them until they're completely dry.

Notes

Just so you have an idea, it makes about 30 crackers if you make them into 3 inch rounds.

Store in an air-tight container. Keeps for 2 month.
If the crackers become stale, stick them back in the dehydrate at 115°F for a couple hours, until it regains its crispness.

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