Recipe Okonomiyaki

[cupcakechef]

One of the most quintessential Japanese dishes to me is Okonomiyaki - which could be best described as a savory Japanese pancake. It's basically your Japanese equivalent to fast food - and it's super popular here!

Some of the ingredients could be a bit tricky to get, depending on where you live - if you have an Asian grocery near you though I'm sure you would be in luck!

Here's the ingredients:

Ingredients

• ½ head (about 500 g) cabbage, finely shredded
• ½ cup tempura batter bits (tenkasu) - usually found at Asian grocers
• 1 tbsp red pickled ginger (benishouga) - usually found at Asian grocers
• mix-ins such as raw prawns, cooked octopus, thinly sliced pork belly, grated cheese, to serve
• 1 cup Otafuku sauce - usually found at Asian grocers
• ½ cup Japanese mayonnaise - usually found at Asian grocers
• ½ cup finely sliced spring onion
• 1 cup loosely packed bonito flakes (katsuobushi) - usually found at Asian grocers

Okonomiyaki batter

• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
• 75 g (½ cup) potato flour or cornflour
• ½ tsp powdered dashi stock or salt (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 375 ml (1½ cups) water

To make the okonomiyaki batter, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Stand in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Combine the cabbage, tempura batter bits and pickled ginger, and divide equally between four bowls or mixing jugs. Add any mix-ins you like to the bowls (it’s nice to make a few different kinds). Divide okonomiyaki batter between bowls and mix well.

Spoon the mixture from each bowl onto a lightly oiled, hot teppanyaki plate or large frying pan, and roughly spread out to a 15 cm circle. Cook on medium heat for about 6-7 minutes or until the base is browned. Turn and cook, poking a few holes in the top of the pancake to allow steam to escape, for a further 5 minutes or until the thick pancake is cooked through.

With a brush, brush the each pancake liberally with Otafuku sauce and drizzle lots of mayonnaise over the top. Scatter with spring onion and bonito flakes and serve.

 

[L_B]

I have never heard of this before but it looks really good. We have a few Asian markets uptown so I will have to stop by one and see if I can by the ingredients that I need to prepare this!.

 

[Morning Glory]

I'm a bit confused here about the toppings.
In the list of ingredients:

toppings, such as raw prawns, cooked octopus, thinly sliced pork belly, grated cheese, to serve

then in the method:

Add any toppings you like to the bowls (it’s nice to make a few different kinds). Divide okonomiyaki batter between bowls and mix well.

So are the 'toppings' mixed in as the recipe method suggests or are they put on top with the sauce and mayo, spring onions and bonito flakes? I'm thinking they must be mixed in as some of them are raw ingredients. Its just that the word topping suggests... well... a topping!

 

[winterybella]

I might be confuse myself like you Morning Glory, but I have to tell you that I am just loving the image. A sucker for pictures I am.

 

[cupcakechef]

I'm a bit confused here about the toppings.
In the list of ingredients:

then in the method:

So are the 'toppings' mixed in as the recipe method suggests or are they put on top with the sauce and mayo, spring onions and bonito flakes? I'm thinking they must be mixed in as some of them are raw ingredients. Its just that the word topping suggests... well... a topping!

Most people just mix them in! I reworded it to "mix-ins" since toppings is not really the right word!

Also, cheese is more a westernised take on it. No authentic Japanese okonomiyaki stand would ever add cheese - well, not that I've seen. But where I live just out of Tokyo there's a big expat population (I live at a military base - hubby is in the military!) and I've seen people make it with cheese added in.

 

[Wilson Wade]

The picture looks like a pizza and it looks nice as well. The ingredients are a bit challenging depending on where you are. I do believe you have to make an authentic dish to know the actual taste. The modification or creating your own version will come once you enjoyed the dish. I might try it first from a Japanese restaurant the next time I go out.

 

[L_B]

I took it as you mix everything right into the batter and then add the toppings of your choice kind of thing. I have had octopus before and really liked it and the pork belly would be good on it but you could use really any toppings to suit your taste and the other ingredients.