Stir-Fry

Okonomiyaki

by:
October  4, 2022
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

I had a really tasty version of okonomiyaki (an eggy Japanese pancake) served with crab meat, at Michael Mina's new Baltimore izakaya, Pabu. I enjoyed it so much, I made my own version of it, which I cobbled together after researching different versions on the Internet. I made mine with leftover pork belly and fresh blue crab meat, but any cooked meat would do nicely.

Dashi powder, kewpie mayo, katsuobushi, and pickled ginger are available at Asian grocers and some large supermarkets. Traditionally, tart red pickled ginger is served with okonomiyaki, but I find the pink sushi ginger works just fine. —theminx

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Ingredients
  • Pancake
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons dashi powder
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 2 cups cole slaw mix
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chopped seafood, pork, or bacon, or a combination
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • Kewpie mayonnaise
  • Katsuobushi (bonito flakes - optional)
  • pickled ginger (optional)
  • Okonomiyaki Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons horseradish dijon mustard
  • 3 Worcestershire sauce
Directions
  1. Bring the water to a simmer and add the dashi. Stir to dissolve and allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the cooled dashi to the flour mixture, stirring to make a batter. Cover and refrigerate batter for at least an hour and up to three hours.
  3. While the batter is resting, saute the sliced onion in a bit of canola oil with a pinch of salt until the onion has softened. Stir in shredded cabbage and stir fry for a few minutes until the cabbage gets limp. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. After the batter has rested for an appropriate length of time, beat the three eggs and add them to the batter. Drain and discard any liquid that has accumulated from the cabbage and onion mixture; add vegetables to the batter along with any seafood or pork you wish to use. The batter will be very thick.
  5. Add a tablespoon of canola oil to an 8" nonstick frying pan and heat until it shimmers. Add okinomiyaki batter to a depth of about 3/4" inch. Cover pan and cook over medium-low heat, for about 5-7 minutes. Remove lid. Place a large plate over the pancake and flip out onto the plate. Cover the pancake with another plate and invert, so the pancake is uncooked-side down on the second plate. Carefully slide pancake into the pan. Cook the second side for another 10 minutes or so, turning heat down to medium-low.
  6. When the pancake is done, transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with mayonnaise, sprinkle with bonito flakes and scallions, and serve pickled ginger on the side.
  7. Cut into wedges and serve with Okonomiyaki sauce.
  8. Okonomiyaki sauce: combine all ingredients in a bowl.

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1 Review

Amy J. April 24, 2019
This was delish! I used leftover rotisserie chicken for my meat. I didn't have dashi, so made a broth with chicken bullion and added some fish sauce for some umami. I also didn't have the other Japanese condiments for topping, so I made a sriracha mayo for the top. I found it was too much batter for 8" pan, so used a 10"...it was perfect. We're having leftovers tonight, so I though I'd change the sauce up...I'm serving it with an egg foo young sauce. Should be delicious.