This blog has been blatantly stolen from One Life Adventures. It first appeared on their site 01/07/2020. Thanks aain OLA!!
Disclaimer: Japanese cuisine is life changing. If after reading/cooking this you find yourself with urges to book the next flight to Japan when borders open, we’re not at fault!
Okonomiyaki is iconic. An absolute MUST eat when you visit Japan, but also a surprisingly easy meal to rustle up at home when those cravings hit! It might take you a few days to learn how to pronounce it properly but trust us when we say it’ll be gone in minutes… Head to the fridge, grab your ingredients and get cooking one of Japan’s most famous dishes.
Okonomiyaki is pretty much just a savoury pancake, made with cabbage, eggs, flour and water. It actually varies slightly depending on where you are in Japan, but is referred to as a Japanese pizza! There’s different varieties in Hiroshima, Osaka and even Tokyo but today we’re going to give you our favourite recipe which comes from Osaka.
“Okonomi” translates to “what you like” and “yaki” means grilled, the name is fitting since the recipe varies so much depending on available ingredients and what the person eating it prefers!
This recipe feeds 1, so adjust it as you need. Our recipe is vegetarian, but usually okonomiyaki is made with some kind of protein so add “what you like”! It can be made with pork belly slices but you can even mix in seafood like shrimps or squid.
OKONOMIYAKI RECIPE
For the okonomiyaki pancake:
½ cup water
½ cup plain flour
1 free range egg
A pinch of salt
1 cup finely shredded cabbage
1 chopped spring onion (save the green part for topping)
For the okonomiyaki sauce:
1.5 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
For the sauce, simply whisk all the ingredients together and set aside ready to drizzle over once your pancake is cooked.
Make the pancake batter by whisking together the flour, water, eggs and salt until it’s smooth.
Fold in your protein (if applicable), your spring onions and the shredded cabbage.
Heat a frying pan with oil over a medium heat, pour in your pancake batter and cook until it’s a golden brown colour – don’t forget to flip it halfway!
Once cooked, you can top with some Japanese mayonnaise, your okonomiyaki sauce and the green part of your spring onion that you set aside earlier. For a really authentic Japanese experience (& if you happen to be able to find these ingredients in a supermarket or Japanese store) you can sprinkle with bonito flakes (not vegetarian) and aonori!
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