okonomiyaki: savoury Japanese pancakes, any way you like them!

This will be a quick post, much like the dish, which can be thrown together in a matter of minutes.

The only ingredients that I would say are standard for this recipe are flour, egg, and chopped cabbage; after that, you can go nuts throwing in leftover vegetables, pieces of meat, seafood, etc., and if you want it to taste Japanese, at least one ingredient with a Japanese flavour (such as dashi instead of water, bonito shavings (katsuobushi), or nori flakes). These items are super cheap in Japan, and can often be found in Chinese or other Asian supermarkets.

The topping is usually okonomiyaki sauce (worcestorshire sauce is a  perfect substitute), mayonnaise, nori powder/flakes, and bonito shavings (you can actually buy pre-mixed packages of the topping, as in the left side of the photo to the left). But again, use what you can find, and the less Japanese ingredients you have, the closer the pancake comes to the Korean version, called chon!

This is the recipe I put together for the photo shoot, which was my first attempt making it since leaving Japan. One tip: make sure the batter is thick enough; my second attempt was too runny, and didn’t look anything like the one above! 😉

okonomiyaki

flour, water, egg, cabbage cut into thin strips, spring onions sliced into jardinieres, bean sprouts, salt, pepper, japanese bread crumbs (panko), bonito shavings, oil, 4mm slices of smoked ham, mayonnaise, nori flakes

– in a bowl, mix all ingredients minus the oil, meat, mayo and nori flakes (save half the bonito shavings for the topping as well), adding water or flour until the texture is a thick batter, not runny
– in a pan, heat oil on medium, adding the meat to sear one side before flipping it over
– pour the batter mix over the meat, let cook slowly, carefully flipping once the one side crisps, and the top starts to dry (as you would do with an American pancake)
– check the middle with a fork to ensure it’s fully cooked before transferring to a plate
– cover the top with mayonnaise (if you have the okonomiyaki sauce, put it on first, then squeeze lines of mayo over it), then cover with the nori flakes and top with bonito shavings

Enjoy!