Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake made similarly to how we would make our pancakes and omlettes…actually come to think of it, they’re a little like making an omelette with pancake batter. Anyways, okonomiyaki generally has a batter base made up of flour, dashi broth, eggs and shredded cabbage but toppings like seafood, thinly sliced meat, green onion, vegetables and cheese get added to it sometimes to create different variations of them.
Oh and different regions in Japan have different ways of preparing them as well. In Hiroshima, the ingredients are layered together to form a pancake and soba noodles are often added to the batter whereas in Kansai, everything gets mixed together at once. This recipe is for Hashimaki which is a Kansai region style Okonomiyaki but instead of being served in the typical pancake circle form, it’s wrapped around a pair of chopsticks. Yay food portability!
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dashi powder
150mL water
3/4 cup cake flour*
3 cups cabbage shredded
optional fillings: pickled ginger, green onion, cheese, Tenkasu, bacon, squid, octopus, shrimp, etc.
oil for cooking
optional toppings: Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes, aonori (powdered green seaweed laver)
disposable wooden chopsticks
*No cake flour? For 1 cup of cake flour, put 2 tablespoons cornstarch in an empty measuring cup and add all-purpose flour to the top. Sift the mixture 2-3 times to evenly distribute the cornstarch.
Cooking time:
1 Combine the egg, dashi powder, and water in a large bowl. Then, sift the flour into the mixture and stir.
2. Add the shredded cabbage along with any additional fillings you’re using for your okonomiyaki to the batter. Mix everything together until your fillings are coated with the batter.
TRADITIONAL OKONOMIYAKI
Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat and scoop ladles of batter on the pan until the surface is covered. Be sure to make sure that you don’t make it too thick. Cook on medium-low until golden brown and then flip it over and cook the other side. It should take about 8 minutes on each side.
HASHIMAKI STYLE
Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat and scoop a ladle of the batter into the pan in a rectangle shape.
When the edges begin to dry, place a pair of disposable chopsticks on one end of the rectangle and carefully roll the Okonomiyaki up.
Set it aside on a plate while you continue to do this for the rest of the batter.
When all your batter is used up, replace your rolled up Okonomiyaki back onto the pan and cook it on low heat for 5 minutes on both sides until golden brown.
Top with Okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and aonori (powdered green seaweed laver).
I hope you fellow food adventurers try to make okonomiyaki some time because they’re super yummy and easy to make. Plus, it’s basically like having an entire meal all in one go because it has your veggies, proteins and carbs!
