It's here: Our game-changing guide to everyone's favorite room in the house. Your Do-Anything Kitchen gathers the smartest ideas and savviest tricks—from our community, test kitchen, and cooks we love—to help transform your space into its best self.
Grab your copyPopular on Food52
52 Comments
Matthew W.
December 2, 2017
It's mise en place, not mis en place. Other than that, great article! Tried it myself, it was quite good.
TIGGUY
November 13, 2017
I've added Hellman's to a scrambled egg mixture and it makes them fluffier.
Maggie
November 13, 2017
I don't know about the mayo, sounds kind of gross to me. It probabbly works for the same reason it works when you add it to a cake, because it's oil+eggs.
As for the seltzer, I have made pancakes with lemon-lime soda and they were lovely and light. This is due to the carbonation of course. In vegan baking you can add seltzer or soda instead of eggs along with the baking powder/baking soda to help it rise.
As for the seltzer, I have made pancakes with lemon-lime soda and they were lovely and light. This is due to the carbonation of course. In vegan baking you can add seltzer or soda instead of eggs along with the baking powder/baking soda to help it rise.
jro
November 11, 2017
Thanks for posting this! I've been obsessed with pictures of Japanese Pancakes online! I did try this as described, but I'm not a fan of the mayo taste. I'm thinking the Kewpie Mayo is essential as I know it's different that American mayo. I'd like to try it again with the Kewpie Mayo. The pancake did come out incredibly large and fluffy! A good start!
Chef S.
November 10, 2017
Lastly I found this new information on Kewpie Mayo.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-tasting-kewpie-made-in-usa-mayo-20170609-story.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-tasting-kewpie-made-in-usa-mayo-20170609-story.html
Susan W.
November 10, 2017
Um, I just read through the comments and I wonder if the "hate" comments were removed. I see none here. Nothing was rude. People were just expressing surprise.
Londo N.
November 10, 2017
Tried the recipe this morning: exactly as translated. After cooking the prescribed time, it was still raw in the middle. Cooked for 2 more minutes, began to get too brown on the exterior, still had a raw stripe through the middle. I don't think stovetop cooking is suitable for such a THICK pancake.
Ann-Marie D.
November 10, 2017
OK OK my inbox has had a ton of amusing comments in the last 48 hours. I will try this weekend and report back, especially as I have a HUGE Kewpie mayonnaise bottle that must be used up! And c'mon, gotta love the Japanese for keepin' it real!
Eri
November 9, 2017
Not sure why folks are being kinda rude. It’s a bit different. Why the hate, peeps? This reminds me of a recipe that was popular in so many church cookbooks in the 60s & 70s - “mayonnaise cake”. I’m also wondering if this is the same as - or related to - another recipe that seemed all the rage a couple of years ago. It was called something like “Japanese Cotton Pancakes”, I think, but due to health issues & obnoxious meds I don’t have a very reliable memory. Anyway - I think it looks awesome! Thanks for the recipe.
Emily S.
November 9, 2017
I kind of got a kick out of all the hater comments on here. I mean, it doesn't even sound like a real recipe with how many changes she made, so it's kind of hard to hate on someone just sharing a new find they're excited about.
Or maybe I'm the only one that thought this looked good? Maybe because I don't actually like real pancakes... I will admit though, the photo in my email was a little misleading to what the recipe outcome actually looks like. We use seltzer in our fish and chips batter for fluffiness too, but I honestly never heard about adding it to pancakes (probably once again because I'm not a big pancake fan). I'm adding it to the try list (although I'm getting kewpie mayo for sure)!
Or maybe I'm the only one that thought this looked good? Maybe because I don't actually like real pancakes... I will admit though, the photo in my email was a little misleading to what the recipe outcome actually looks like. We use seltzer in our fish and chips batter for fluffiness too, but I honestly never heard about adding it to pancakes (probably once again because I'm not a big pancake fan). I'm adding it to the try list (although I'm getting kewpie mayo for sure)!
Joycelyn
November 9, 2017
Not really new, just someone discovering pancakes can be made much the same as mayo biscuits, a old recipe that's been around for years.
That aside, you actually added 1 cup of sugar to such a small amount of ingredients?
Wow
That aside, you actually added 1 cup of sugar to such a small amount of ingredients?
Wow
vern B.
November 9, 2017
Sounds like great fun. I always cook with my daughters (8 and 11). They will think the new ingredients are a blast! We all love any type of pancake. Thanks for a fun twist.
Charles
November 9, 2017
Nothing to see here. It's soda water? That's not a lot different than baking powder CO2. I have been using soda water in pancakes since the 1970's. I was 9.
Pamela_in_Tokyo
November 9, 2017
Japanese variety shows and their off shoots in the Internet are having a great deal of fun with making normal foods with weird ingredients. The stranger ingredients would include some sort of Japanese snack food and then something that people often have in the refrigerator. Mixing that with one other normal thing and coming up with a completely different recipe for some kind of western food. People on the show taste these foods and say they are delicious but I really have my doubts. And I don’t really know if I would want to eat something made that way.
Right now pancakes are really popular in Japan. I mean they always have been popular, we have pancake mix boxes in the supermarkets. But there are a couple of coffee shops that make really thick pancakes the take over an hour to cook. So I think people are trying to re-create these things.
The box cake culture has never taken off here. They make too much cake for the average household. When Japanese housewives make a cake, they want the size to be something that they can serve their family and that they will generally eat up completely in one setting. They DON’T want leftovers. So a very small cake is what they want to make.
;-)
Right now pancakes are really popular in Japan. I mean they always have been popular, we have pancake mix boxes in the supermarkets. But there are a couple of coffee shops that make really thick pancakes the take over an hour to cook. So I think people are trying to re-create these things.
The box cake culture has never taken off here. They make too much cake for the average household. When Japanese housewives make a cake, they want the size to be something that they can serve their family and that they will generally eat up completely in one setting. They DON’T want leftovers. So a very small cake is what they want to make.
;-)
Refrigerator M.
November 9, 2017
My crepe recipe uses seltzer. So why not for pancakes? Will try it.
Helen S.
November 9, 2017
Mayo is essentially oil So replace the mayo with oil and you have the "mystery " ingredients. All pancakes have some sort of fat - oil or butter. As to the fluffiness, which I doubt considering the size of this,it is indeed the club soda or selzer water. My son told me about this years and year ago when he learned it working in a restaurant,
Todd K.
January 1, 2018
I'm just guessing, but I think the mail provides more than just oil in that it provides some structure. Since its emulsified and thicker than just plain oil it may contain the CO2 as the Seltzer and baking soda work.
No
November 9, 2017
The photo that enticed me to read this article on the newsletter of pancakes on a wire rack was totally misleading. A singular Japanese cake made in a pan pancake is not the same product as a batch of multiple pancakes as we understand them to be. Who approved this article to be presented as such? Plus, Japanese mayo Kewpie is not the same as the beloved American/Western Hellman's. Not exactly like Miracle Whip either, but the taste and texture are different. And using mayo to make cakes and other baked goods richer and more moist is several generations old, not a new truck. We depend on you to do better Food52.
Sherry B.
November 9, 2017
I would totally play with this idea, it's just weird enough to be intriguing. And I always have Kewpie mayo on hand, lol.
Chef S.
November 9, 2017
There's absolutely zero chance of me making pancakes with mayonnaise added in! Plus the way that you cooked it wasn't a pancake, it was a CAKE that tasted like a pancake! imho....lol
Cheers! Chef Steve
Cheers! Chef Steve
Sue
November 9, 2017
Old folks call this a "Johnny cake." It's not what you think of when envisioning pancakes.
JP
November 12, 2017
Where I grew up (southern New England) johnny cakes are flat pancakes made with cornmeal. Pretty sure that’s what makes them johnny cakes, not the size.
Michael G.
November 8, 2017
Oh for heaven sake. 1c. Flour, 2tsp baking powder, 2 Tbl sugar, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 egg, 1 Tbl oil, 1c. Milk, 2 Tbl melted butter. Game over
George H.
November 7, 2017
So as @Cecilia, "egg white", @Tery Robertson, "seltzer water".
Egg white is regularly used, if not widely. I have used it; seltzer water may be just a smart way to apply baking powder.
Interesting twist. But not sure "ingenious".
Egg white is regularly used, if not widely. I have used it; seltzer water may be just a smart way to apply baking powder.
Interesting twist. But not sure "ingenious".
Ann-Marie D.
November 6, 2017
Sorry, think we're all scoffing! :) It's a cake first of all. Mayo is fat, so it likely makes it super moist, like in all the cake recipes. And my tempura recipe also uses fizzy water, so I think this is where the lightness may come from?
BerryBaby
November 5, 2017
Yes, it does look more like a cake made in a pan. Pancakes to me have to be thinner, not crepe thin.
rebecca P.
November 5, 2017
Mayo is Japanese?
Todd K.
January 1, 2018
Yes, it's a big hit over there. It's a variation of American style mayonnaise, it's uses more egg , let's egg white and some MSG. I can't remember what other changes. If you can get to an Asian grocery store or your grocer has a good Asian section, look for Kewpie brand. Even then I hear that the Kewpie Mayo that they export to the United States is slightly different than what is available in Japan, but that's a rumor I've heard.
Todd K.
January 1, 2018
Yes, it's a big hit over there. It's a variation of American style mayonnaise, it's uses more egg , let's egg white and some MSG. I can't remember what other changes. If you can get to an Asian grocery store or your grocer has a good Asian section, look for Kewpie brand. Even then I hear that the Kewpie Mayo that they export to the United States is slightly different than what is available in Japan, but that's a rumor I've heard.
Tery R.
November 5, 2017
Does anyone else think that the "secret ingredient" that makes it so fuffy isn't the mayo but the seltzer water?
Daniele
November 9, 2017
It is. Seltzer water or sparkling mineral water has been used in Europe for ages to make batter fluffier. I honestly doubt it's the mayo :) https://waterstories.nestle-waters.com/health/cooking-recipes-with-sparkling-water/
Diane
November 5, 2017
Did you flip the pancake? Finish it in the oven? Otherwise, how did top get brown?
Cecilia
November 4, 2017
Mayo is just an emulsification of egg yolks and oil. So it's essentially a shortcut to produce a well-emulsified pancake batter enriched with extra fat. I assume you could achieve the same effect by adding a few tbsp of melted butter or oil and an egg into your pancake recipe, which seems pretty standard, anyway, and mixing it very well (either with an immersion blender or an upright blender). The idea that this is a "hack" seems contrived, to me. The true secret to Japanese-style fluffy pancakes is actually separating the eggs, beating the egg whites separately, and then folding them into the final batter; the second secret is "steaming" the batter, either in a rice cooker or by pouring the batter into english muffin rings on a griddle, adding some water, and covering the pan while they cook.
Armando M.
November 9, 2017
I like the idea to put into the rice cocker, It could be called; creative improvisation.
Yoko M.
November 9, 2017
very true! also it's important to note that in japan, there is a vocabulary distinction made between western and japanese pancakes—we always call our version "hotcakes," whereas we only use the term "pancake" to refer to the flatter western variant.
marynn
November 3, 2017
So this is so going to happen tomorrow AM. Any thoughts on how to cook this in a rice cooker? Thank you!
HalfPint
November 3, 2017
Yes, I would give this recipe a whirl. After all the mayo chocolate cake is delicious.
Vanessa W.
November 9, 2017
In the southern US we call this pancake spoonbread and cook it with buttermilk and self rising corn meal as well as cook the cake in a cast iron skillet. The seltzer and mayo sound great it would be a great substitute for the buttermilk. I love pancake because we eat it with collard green, beans and rice or even cabbage it's a great side dish also.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.