Okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancake)

Start 2022 with this Japanese pancake called Okonomiyaki! This one's similar to the Osaka style of Okonomiyaki where all the filling ingredients are mixed inside the batter. It's quite healthy as it's sort of like a vegetable pancake filled with cabbage, beansprouts and spring onions.

yum would you look at that ;)

From here you can see the outer part of the pancake has a crispy texture

Okonomiyaki sauce making the pancake have a kind of sweet taste but still savoury because of the vegetables inside

Having all the main pancake ingredients ready (Japanese mayo, okonomiyaki sauce, dashi stock, eggs, cabbage, spring onions, beansprouts, flour

The batter mixed and having the bacon prepped

Okonomiyaki sauce

You can buy ready-made Okonomiyaki sauce but I made my own with Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce and sugar. It definitely tastes more fresh if you made it from scratch so why not go ahead!

Japanese mayo

Japanese Kewpie mayo will work and most Asian grocery supermarkets sell this.

If you only have regular mayo, mix mayo (mine was vegan mayo) with rice vinegar, dashi granules and sugar.

Bacon

Traditionally in Okonomiyaki, thin pork belly slices are used. However, I couldn't find them so I used bacon which still tasted great with the pancake!

Negi cutter

Wondering how I thinly sliced the spring onions on top of the pancake? I used a 'negi' cutter. Link below for if you're interested in one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Onion-Negi-Cutter-4235/dp/B003Q37E5C

Go crazy

Top your pancake with bonito flakes and dried seaweed to be make an extra traditional Okonomiyaki.

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This makes 4-5 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 tbsp flour

3 cups white cabbage (sliced thinly)

2 spring onions (2 white parts and 1 green part chopped into small pieces, 1 green part thinly sliced)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup dashi stock (1tsp dashi granule dissolved in hot water)

Okonomiyaki sauce:

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

Japanese mayo:

1/2 cup vegan mayo

1/2 tsp rice vinegar

1/8 tsp dashi granules

1/2 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Save the top green part of 1 spring onion and slice into thin strips with the ‘negi cutter’

2. Dissolve dashi granules in hot water.

3. In a bowl, mix cabbage, beansprouts, spring onions, salt and sugar. Mix in eggs, dashi stock and combine until it becomes a batter.

4. To make the okonomiyaki sauce, combine Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup and sugar.

5. To make the Japanese Mayo, combine vegan Mayo, rice vinegar, sugar and dashi granules.

6. In a pan under medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Pour the batter into the pan evenly and let it fry for around 3 minutes, until the bottom is light browned. Place bacon slices on top.

7. Flip the pancake over and continue to fry for 3 minutes. Spread a thin layer of okonomiyaki sauce on the pancake (bacon facing down).

8. Flip the pancake over (bacon facing up) and spread another layer of okonomiyaki sauce. Continue to fry for 3 minutes.

9. Flip one more time then spread another layer okonomiyaki sauce.

10. Plate the pancake. Top with Japanese Mayo, spring onions and sesame seeds.

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