Hailing from Osaka, Okonomiyaki is a delicious Japanese savory pancake made with flour, eggs, cabbage, and protein, and topped with a variety of condiments.

Okonomiyaki Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) (120 g)
• ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (use half for table salt)
• ¼ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 2-3 inch Nagaimo/Yamaimo (5-8 cm, 160 g, 5.6 oz)
• ¾ cup dashi (180 ml; You can make Dashi or use ¾ cup water + 1 tsp dashi powder. For vegetarian, use Kombu Dashi.)
• 1 large cabbage head (1.6 lb or 740 g)
• ½ lb sliced pork belly (227 g; You can thinly slice the pork belly if your pork belly is a slab. You can sub with shrimp or squid. For vegetarian, skip and use mushroom.)
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup Tenkasu/Agedama (tempura scraps) (8 Tbsp)
• ¼ cup pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga) (4 Tbsp)
• neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)

Quick Okonomiyaki Sauce

• 1 ½ Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 Tbsp ketchup
• 3 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Toppings

• Okonomi sauce
• Japanese mayonnaise
• Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (Skip for vegetarian)
• Aonori (dried green seaweed)
• Green onions/scallions
• pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients.
   

To Prepare Okonomiyaki Batter

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp sugar, and ¼ tsp baking powder and mix all together.
2. Peel and grate nagaimo in a small bowl. It can get itchy, so work quickly and rinse your hand right after.  Nagaimo is very slimy and slippery, so make sure you have a good grip if you wear a glove.
3. Add the grated nagaimo and dashi in the bowl.
4. Mix all together till combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

To Make Okonomiyaki Sauce

1. Meanwhile, gather all the ingredients for Okonomiyaki Sauce.
   
2. Combine 1 ½ Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp oyster sauce, 4 Tbsp ketchup, and 3 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Mix all together until sugar is completely dissolved.

To Prepare Okonomiyaki

1. Remove the core of the cabbage and mince it. Set aside to let the moisture evaporate so it won’t dilute the batter.
2. Cut the pork belly slices in half and set aside.
3. Take out the batter from the refrigerator and add 4 large eggs, ½ cup (8 Tbsp) tempura scraps (Tenkasu/Agedama), and ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) pickled red ginger (Kizami Beni Shoga) in the bowl. Mix well until well-combined.
4. Add chopped cabbage to the batter ⅓ at a time. Mix well before adding the rest.

To Grill Okonomiyaki

1. In a large pan, heat vegetable oil on medium heat. When the frying pan is hot (400 F or 200 ºC), spread the batter in a circle on the pan. We like thicker okonomiyaki (final thickness is ¾ inches or 2 cm). If you’re new to making okonomiyaki, make a smaller and thinner size so it’s easier to flip.
2. Place 2-3 sliced pork belly on top of Okonomiyaki and cook covered for 5 minutes.
3. When the bottom side is nicely browned, flip over.
4. Gently press the okonomiyaki to fix the shape and keep it together. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Flip over one last time and cook uncovered for 2 minutes. If you’re going to cook next batch, transfer to a plate.

To Serve

1. Here are the ingredients for toppings.  Apply okonomiyaki sauce with brush, add Japanese mayonnaise in zigzagging lines (optional), and sprinkle dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi). You can also put dried green seaweed (aonori), chopped green onions, and pickled red ginger on top for garnish. Please see the video for this step.

To Store

1. Okonomiyaki freezes well. Once it cools down (no sauce or toppings), wrap each okonomiyaki in aluminum foil and put it in a freezer bag. When you want to eat it, defrost first and put it in a toaster oven or oven to heat it up. It's a great quick meal!

To Cook Several Okonomiyaki At Once

1. If you have a Japanese griddle with a lid (We call it “Hot Plate”), you can cook several okonomiyaki at once! Otherwise, I recommend cooking two okonomiyaki (each in one frying pan) at a time.

https://www.justonecookbook.com/okonomiyaki/