madebyyouandi
Senior Member
There is nothing like okonomiyaki in Western cuisine and I see it (mis)translated as either "Japanese pizza" or "cabbage pancakes" but it doesn't have cheese and is never sweet. Essentially, okonomiyaki is a batter flavored with dashi that has a lot of cabbage mixed into it. It is then fried on a griddle until the cabbage softens. Often, it's made with seafood or pork either mixed in or placed on top before the "pancake" is flipped. It's then served with okonomiyaki sauce and topped with mayonnaise.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYo_UvasYI
Below is a recipe for okonomiyaki and later I will post a more "western" version of the same dish. I will eventually post videos of both on my YouTube channel.
The batter:
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup of dashi (or water with 1 teaspoon dashi powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar (this is for browning)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200 grams of egg (or about 3 large eggs)
1 head of cabbage shredded and chopped
pork, beef, oysters, squid, or octopus (100- 200 grams) (optional)
Directions:
1) Mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and dashi together until the lumps are gone and set aside for an hour to relax the gluten and hydrate the flour. You can make this a few days ahead of time and keep the batter in the fridge until ready to use (this is what I do).
2) The day you're ready to make it, beat in the eggs and fold in the cabbage. (If you want to use squid or octopus, add it here.)
3) Scoop 1/4 of this mixture onto an oiled griddle or fry pan cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
4) While it's cooking add a layer slices of pork or beef or oysters on top (if using).
5) Flip and cook on low for another 10 minutes.
6) When done, add the okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise and serve.
Note: If you have an asian grocery store near by, you can add between 100-200 grated yamaimo/mountain potato to the batter with the dashi. This potato is flavorless but when grated is very slimly (think okra) and helps to keep the batter on the cabbage while adding a nice chew to the final product. Yamaimo isn't necessary to make it at home but is what restaurants use here in Japan.
Note two: Typically, you add katsuobusushi/shaved bonito flakes after the mayonnaise. The rising heat causes the flakes to move -- "dance" -- on the okonomiyaki. People also add shaved or powdered nori (for extra umami) and benni shoga/red ginger for extra flavor.
Below is a recipe for okonomiyaki and later I will post a more "western" version of the same dish. I will eventually post videos of both on my YouTube channel.
The batter:
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup of dashi (or water with 1 teaspoon dashi powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar (this is for browning)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200 grams of egg (or about 3 large eggs)
1 head of cabbage shredded and chopped
pork, beef, oysters, squid, or octopus (100- 200 grams) (optional)
Directions:
1) Mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and dashi together until the lumps are gone and set aside for an hour to relax the gluten and hydrate the flour. You can make this a few days ahead of time and keep the batter in the fridge until ready to use (this is what I do).
2) The day you're ready to make it, beat in the eggs and fold in the cabbage. (If you want to use squid or octopus, add it here.)
3) Scoop 1/4 of this mixture onto an oiled griddle or fry pan cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
4) While it's cooking add a layer slices of pork or beef or oysters on top (if using).
5) Flip and cook on low for another 10 minutes.
6) When done, add the okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise and serve.
Note: If you have an asian grocery store near by, you can add between 100-200 grated yamaimo/mountain potato to the batter with the dashi. This potato is flavorless but when grated is very slimly (think okra) and helps to keep the batter on the cabbage while adding a nice chew to the final product. Yamaimo isn't necessary to make it at home but is what restaurants use here in Japan.
Note two: Typically, you add katsuobusushi/shaved bonito flakes after the mayonnaise. The rising heat causes the flakes to move -- "dance" -- on the okonomiyaki. People also add shaved or powdered nori (for extra umami) and benni shoga/red ginger for extra flavor.
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If you can get it, that mayo is the bomb!
