This cabbage-based pancake has some essential garnishes, but you can add anything you like to the batter
Okonomiyaki – fun to say, and fun to cook. The word for this Japanese, cabbage-based pancake loosely translates as "what you like, grilled". As its name suggests, okonomiyaki is a flexible dish. There is a batter base, an obligatory cabbage filling and quite strict garnishes – but otherwise, the rest of the ingredients come down to what's at hand. Shrimp and octopus are popular fillings. Pork is also a common choice, usually in the form of pork belly cut into very thin strips, so it looks more like bacon.
When it comes to cooking okonomiyaki, there are two styles – "Hiroshima style", where the plain pancake is grilled, then topped with the chosen cooked ingredients, or "Osaka style", where all the ingredients are mixed into the batter, then cooked more like a frittata. The recipe below is Osaka style, which is most common in Japan's okonomiyaki bars.
The main technicalities surrounding okonomiyaki come down to the garnish. Okonomiyaki sauce is quite hard to track down in Britain – it is similar to a brown sauce in taste, texture and appearance, but the addition of soy or shiitake mushrooms imparts distinctive Japanese umami flavours. Specialist shops may stock the Otafuku brand of okonomiyaki sauce, but failing that, HP brown sauce shares its tomato-vinegar base and makes a good substitute. Japan's brand of Kewpie mayonnaise is thicker and creamier than its western counterpart, but again, British mayonnaise makes a decent substitute. The best type of seaweed to use is "aonori" flakes, but most dried seaweed can be ground in a pestle and mortar.
The final topping is bonito fish flakes, which are parmesan-thin flakes shaved off dried, fermented tuna. The heat emanating from a just-cooked okonomiyaki makes the bonito flakes "dance" over the pancake, but aside from decoration, their main purpose is to impart big umami notes. Bonito flakes can be found in Japanese specialist shops and are traditional, but not compulsory.
When it comes to cooking okonomiyaki, it is important that the pan is not blindingly hot. Stray pieces of cabbage blacken easily, and the result will be a crispy, dark outside and an undercooked centre. Keep the pan at a moderate temperature, and use a lid to trap the heat and encourage cooking on the sides, top and middle, not just the bottom.
*Okonomiyaki pancakes by Elize Nakatani, head chef at Abeno*
*(Serves 1)*
*1 egg*
*50g plain flour *
*50g stock, cooled*
*15g raw potato, grated *
*½ tsp crispy onions*
*1-2 tsp spring onions, chopped*
*½ tsp fresh ginger, grated (or Japanese pickled ginger, diced)*
*125g cabbage, thinly shredded (ideally pointed or sweetheart)*
*Oil*
*To garnish *
*Kewpie mayonnaise (or regular)*
*Okonomiyaki sauce (or HP sauce)*
*Bonito fish flakes*
*Powdered seaweed*
*Optional*
*Prawn, octopus, squid or thinly-sliced pork belly*
Mix together the egg and flour, then stir in the cooled stock, making sure that there are no lumps.
Add the grated potato to the batter, then stir in the crispy onions, spring onions, ginger and cabbage, plus the seafood or pork belly, if using.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Pour the mixture into the pan, and fry for five minutes each side.
Add the garnishes to taste, and serve immediately. Reported by guardian.co.uk 5 hours ago.
Okonomiyaki – fun to say, and fun to cook. The word for this Japanese, cabbage-based pancake loosely translates as "what you like, grilled". As its name suggests, okonomiyaki is a flexible dish. There is a batter base, an obligatory cabbage filling and quite strict garnishes – but otherwise, the rest of the ingredients come down to what's at hand. Shrimp and octopus are popular fillings. Pork is also a common choice, usually in the form of pork belly cut into very thin strips, so it looks more like bacon.
When it comes to cooking okonomiyaki, there are two styles – "Hiroshima style", where the plain pancake is grilled, then topped with the chosen cooked ingredients, or "Osaka style", where all the ingredients are mixed into the batter, then cooked more like a frittata. The recipe below is Osaka style, which is most common in Japan's okonomiyaki bars.
The main technicalities surrounding okonomiyaki come down to the garnish. Okonomiyaki sauce is quite hard to track down in Britain – it is similar to a brown sauce in taste, texture and appearance, but the addition of soy or shiitake mushrooms imparts distinctive Japanese umami flavours. Specialist shops may stock the Otafuku brand of okonomiyaki sauce, but failing that, HP brown sauce shares its tomato-vinegar base and makes a good substitute. Japan's brand of Kewpie mayonnaise is thicker and creamier than its western counterpart, but again, British mayonnaise makes a decent substitute. The best type of seaweed to use is "aonori" flakes, but most dried seaweed can be ground in a pestle and mortar.
The final topping is bonito fish flakes, which are parmesan-thin flakes shaved off dried, fermented tuna. The heat emanating from a just-cooked okonomiyaki makes the bonito flakes "dance" over the pancake, but aside from decoration, their main purpose is to impart big umami notes. Bonito flakes can be found in Japanese specialist shops and are traditional, but not compulsory.
When it comes to cooking okonomiyaki, it is important that the pan is not blindingly hot. Stray pieces of cabbage blacken easily, and the result will be a crispy, dark outside and an undercooked centre. Keep the pan at a moderate temperature, and use a lid to trap the heat and encourage cooking on the sides, top and middle, not just the bottom.
*Okonomiyaki pancakes by Elize Nakatani, head chef at Abeno*
*(Serves 1)*
*1 egg*
*50g plain flour *
*50g stock, cooled*
*15g raw potato, grated *
*½ tsp crispy onions*
*1-2 tsp spring onions, chopped*
*½ tsp fresh ginger, grated (or Japanese pickled ginger, diced)*
*125g cabbage, thinly shredded (ideally pointed or sweetheart)*
*Oil*
*To garnish *
*Kewpie mayonnaise (or regular)*
*Okonomiyaki sauce (or HP sauce)*
*Bonito fish flakes*
*Powdered seaweed*
*Optional*
*Prawn, octopus, squid or thinly-sliced pork belly*
Mix together the egg and flour, then stir in the cooled stock, making sure that there are no lumps.
Add the grated potato to the batter, then stir in the crispy onions, spring onions, ginger and cabbage, plus the seafood or pork belly, if using.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Pour the mixture into the pan, and fry for five minutes each side.
Add the garnishes to taste, and serve immediately. Reported by guardian.co.uk 5 hours ago.