Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is getting slowly more popular outside of Japan. It’s often described as a Japanese pizza, but it’s more like a savory pancake.Okonomiyaki was invented, they say, in Osaka, which is a city famous for cheap and good eats. Okonomiyaki is a snack more than a full meal, though it is pretty filling. It’s a quintessential yatai or streetside food stand food, though nowadays you’re more likely to eat it indoors than sitting at an outside stall. It’s a very communal type of food, especially if you cook it on a tabletop griddle.

Ingredients

1. 120g / 4 oz. grated nagaimo, or the equivalent amount of reconstituted yamaimo powder
2. 4 to 5 tablespoons of dashi stock, or water with a pinch of dashi powder
3. 60g / 2 oz all purpose flour, sifted
4. 3 ‘large’ (60g each) eggs
5. 2 to 3 tablespoons of beni shouga
6. 4 tablespoons of tenkasu
7. About 300g / 10 1/2 oz. (about 2 packed cups) roughly chopped cabbage
8. 6 to 8 thin slices of pork belly
9. 3 tablespoons of chopped green onion (optional)
10. 1 tablespoon of sakura ebi (optional)
11. Oil for cooking
12. The topping:
13. aonori
14. katsuobushi
15. okonomiyaki sauce or tonkatsu sauce plus optional mayonnaise
16. Equipment needed:
17. a griddle plate or a large non-stick frying pan
18. a smaller frying pan
19. a wad of paper towels or cotton wool
20. a grater
21. a brush for the sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Peel and grate the nagaimo, following the hints above for protecting your hands. Mix with the dashi and flour, and add two of the eggs. It should be a rather loose batter.
2. At this point, if you don’t have any tenkasu on hand, heat up some oil in a small frying pan. Dribble some of the batter in the hot oil.
3. Cook until golden brown. Drain off the oil (you can use it to cook the okonomiyaki) and allow the tenkasu to cool.
4. Add the chopped cabbage to the batter.
5. Add the other egg. Stir with a big spoon or a spatula to combine.
6. Add the other ingredients except the pork. Crumble the tenkasu with your hands a bit before adding. Stir to combine.
7. Heat up your griddle pan or big frying pan. Take a wad of cotton wool or paper towels, and spread around a thin layer of oil.
8. The heat should be about medium-low. Spread 1/3 to 1/2rd of the batter in a circle on the pan. If this is your first time, go with the smaller size to make flipping easier.
9. Place 2 to 3 strips of pork as flat as possible on top of the batter.
10. Put on a lid, and let it steam-cook for about 5-6 minutes.
11. When the pork has lightened up in color, it’s time to flip the okonomiyaki.
12. Take two spatulas and flip the thing over carefully. Voila! Continue cooking without a lid for about 3-4 more minutes. Lower the heat if it’s cooking too fast, or turn it up a bit if it isn’t. Try to resist the urge to press down on the okonomiyaki at this point - doing so will squeeze some air and fluffiness out of the okonomiyaki.
13. Flip over once more, so the pork side is facing up. Brush with the sauce of your choice - straight okonomiyaki sauce, a mix of okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise, soy sauce, etc.
14. Sprinkle on some katsuobushi and aonori liberally.
15. To serve, cut into 4 pieces (the pro does this on the plate with a spatula, but you can use a knife on a cutting board).
16. The inside should be just cooked through, not doughy or runny. Eat while piping hot. (Okonomiyaki is edible enough when it’s cold, but it’s one of those foods that is so much better when it’s freshly made.)

Notes

A Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is either two of these with some yakisoba (pan-fried noodles) in between, or one of these as a base, topped with a mound of yakisoba, and then a fried egg. One Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki comes in at around 1000 calories. Enjoy.You can omit the pork belly slices. You can try substituting bacon, but that would flavor the whole thing.You can get okonomiyaki mix, which has flour, nagaimo powder, dashi, and things already in there. You just add water, or water and egg, depending on the kind. But, that’s not nearly as much fun.