Okonomiyaki
Essentially Japanese street food pancakes emphasizing cabbage, with a unique sauce combination that gives it its characteristic flavor. Recipe mostly taken from Joshua Weissman. The picture is perhaps not the most visually appealing from the top (a sliced cross-section shot might have looked nicer). Delicious, surprisingly simple to make, and pretty versatile (you can add all kinds of other ingredients like meat, seafood, pickled ginger, and much more.
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
Ingredients
Okonomiyaki batter:
> flour (1 cup)
> cabbage (1/2 medium)
> scallions (2-3 stalks)
> dashi (1/2 cup)
> salt (1/2 tsp)
> baking powder (1/4 tsp)
> agedama (tempura scrap, 1/2 cup)
> eggs (4)
Okonomiyaki sauce:
> Worcestershire sauce (2 tbsp)
> Ketchup (2 tbsp)
> soy sauce (1 tbsp)
> honey (1.5 tbsp)
Toppings:
> kewpie mayonnaise
> bonito flakes
> green onions
> nori
> (optional) agedama
Instructions
1. Make the okonomiyaki sauce by mixing all the ingredients together.
2. Beat eggs. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, whole eggs, and dashi. Some lumps are OK.
3. Core and slice the cabbage into very thin strips. Chop the scallions. Mix the cabbage and scallions into the batter.
4. To cook the pancake: very lightly oil a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the batter to the pan and lightly press down until uniform in texture. Cook for about 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness), or until lightly golden.
5. Invert the pancake and cook the other side for a couple of minutes. Slather the top with half of the okonomiyaki sauce.
6. Invert the pancake onto its serving plate. Slather the rest of the okonomiyaki sauce over the top. Top with kekwpie mayonnaise, thinly sliced green onions, nori chiffonade, bonito flakes, and agedama.
Notes/Tips:
> The ingredient amounts are ideal for a 12-inch skillet. If you have a 10-inch skillet, decrease the ingredient amounts by roughly 1/3.
> If you don't have agedama, you could also substitute it for panko breadcrumbs in the batter (don't top the okonomiyaki with panko breadcrumbs). It doesn't quite have the same texture but still works quite well.
> Something that Joshua Weissman does in his video is to put a couple of slices of bacon or pork belly on the second side. I've tried this and it works pretty well! Just make sure to turn the heat slightly higher so that the bacon crisps and releases its fat a bit better.