Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki, which roughly translates to “anything grilled,” can be described as a Japanese cabbage and seafood-flavored pancake. But, that is very much off the mark as to what the dish is: think of a grilled disk of cabbage and batter, coated in a sweet sauce, and Japanese mayo. It is heaven and surprisingly easy to make.
Batter:
- 76 grams flour
- 1/8 teaspoon1 of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 2 eggs
- 60 ml of warm water2
- bonito flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 of a head of cabbage
- 1/4 of a red3 onion
Sauce4:
- 1 tablespoon (26 grams) of ketchup
- 1 tablespoon (30 ml) of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon (8 ml) of soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon (8 ml) of honey
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of molasses
Garnish:
- Japanese mayo
- bonito flakes
- nori flakes
- Get 60 ml of warm water.
- Add half a teaspoon of soy sauce.
- Add a generous amount of bonito flakes5.
- Mix6.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Whisk the eggs then add them to the batter.
- Add your dashi substitute and mix.
- Dice7 your cabbage and add it to the batter.
- Dice your onion and add it to the batter.
- Mix until everything is incorporated8.
- Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, and molasses.
- Mix until smooth.
- Get your best non-stick9 pan hot10.
- Add all the batter, making a nice, large, circle.
- Let cook11 until the bottom is ready (roughly 3 minutes).
- Slide the okonomiyaki onto a plate, then flip it back onto the pan12.
- Brush the top of the okonomiyaki with sauce (while the bottom is cooking).
- Once the bottom is cooked, flip onto a plate.
- Brush the okonomiyaki with sauce13.
- Add a generous swizzle of (Japanese) mayo.
- Sprinkle a very generous amount of bonito flakes.
- Sprinkle some nori.
This recipe is my take on Joshua Weissman’s recipe (a Kansai-style okonomiyaki). I mostly removed the need for dashi and cut the seafood from the preparation14.
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The technical term is a “pinch” but I am pretty sure that the dish would be fine if it were omitted. ↩︎
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This will be used with soy sauce and bonito flakes to do a quick dashi substitute. If you have dashi, use it. ↩︎
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Green onions would be more traditional, but I like color and have red onions in my pantry. ↩︎
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None of these ingredients are mandatory; there are many valid substitutions as long as you end up with a dark, sweet, and umami sauce. ↩︎
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If we were making actual dashi, we would filter out the flakes after mixing thoroughly, but they will bring some fish elements to the final product. ↩︎
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The result will look and smell fishy, which might not be the most appetizing thing depending on your taste; this is fine as it will be incorporated in the batter, taking the place of dashi and diced seafood. ↩︎
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Surprisingly, the onion cutting methods work great for cabbage… ↩︎
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This will feel more like coleslaw than pancake batter; it is normal and fine. ↩︎
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This is a sticky batter. If you do not have a great non-stick pan, then I would abandon the idea of flipping the dish and just scrape it once done enough (at which point it starts making sense to cook it in an oven…). ↩︎
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As you would for pancakes. ↩︎
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Do not put a lid on; it would retain too much moisture. ↩︎
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You can take your time to do this flipping action, but yes, that is the difficult part of this recipe. ↩︎
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Now is the time to use all the sauce left. ↩︎
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Feel free to add it back! This is a great dish to make with some leftover seafood. ↩︎
d6d673c @ 2024-07-13