Ingredients
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120g/ 1 cup all purpose flour
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3 large Eggs
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½ tsp Salt
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30g/ 1oz Nagaimoor finely grated potato
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¼ tsp baking powder
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½ tsp Sugar
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150ml/ ¾ cup Dashi
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½ cabbage finely sliced cabbage
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½ cup of tempura flakesbread crumbs can be used as well
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Toppings
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Japanese Mayonnaise
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Okonomiyaki sauce
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nori (seawead) flakes
Directions
When it comes to pancakes, the Japanese really took the them to the next level, Okonomiyaki is a kind of a Japanese pancake, some will disagree but regardless of what it is, one thing is without question, it is delicious.
What is Okonomiyaki ?
It is a batter made out of eggs, flour, cabbage and many more goodies which in most cases are up to you but there are certain Okonomiyaki types, it varies according to the region.
The meaning of Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is “how you like it on a grill”, this defines this savory pancake where everything goes.
The variations are according to the region, the Kansai region style (Osaka is the main city) is probably the most common version and contain on top of the regular ingredients also green onion, pork belly, octopus and shrimp.
The Hiroshima style is much more extravagant and can get to a very thick pancake when all ingredients are stacked on top of the other. Popular additions are cheese, squid, fried egg,noodles and the amount of cabbage is significantly higher than the Osaka style version.
Japanese recommended ingredients
Most of the Japanese vegetables and sauces that we use in the Okonomiyaki are not available outside of japan, indeed, they can be found in some of the Japanese groceries or Asian markets but are not easy to find, for this reason I added a substitute for every ingredient.
The Nagaimo is a kind of Yam that is grated into the batter, it adds flavor and light texture, it can be omitted or replace with grated potatoes.
Tempura flakes are another key element to keep the pancake light and airy, if you can’t find tempura flakes, you can make them (to much mess in my opinion) or use bread crumbs, it will do the trick.
Regarding the sauces, is it very difficult to replicate the Japanese mayonnaise and the Okonomiyaki sauce, which is a rich, thick semi-sweet kind of a Worcestershire sauce.
Making this great Japanese dish is easy and fun and even if you don’t have all the ingredients just use whatever you have, it will turn out great.
Steps
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1
Done
40 minutes
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making the batterMix all dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, add the grated Nagaimo or potatoes, dashi stock, mix until incorporated and cover with a plastic wrap. |
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2
Done
5 minutes
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finishing the batterAdd the cabbage, eggs, tempura flakes or bread crumbs and mix well |
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3
Done
10 minutes
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cooking the OkonomiyakiPlace a large pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil, when almost smoking add about 3-4 tbsp. of the batter in a round shape and about 3 cm/2inch thick. |
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4
Done
1 minute
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ServingTake out the Okonomiyaki out to a plate or a board, add Japanese mayonnaise and Okonomiyaki sauce and sprinkle with nori flakes. |
