Okonomiyaki - Japanese cabbage-based savoury pancakes
I love the humble Okonomiyaki (apparently its origins lie in wartime Osaka when the staple rice was hard to come by and was substituted with cabbage). Okonomi meaning “as you like it”, and yaki meaning grilled. I’ve had these in specialist Japanese restaurants. In London try Abeno. But I had a home demo done by my friend Mayuko and was looking forward to trying it myself. I’ve somewhat by buying a DIY kit - but there is no reason why the ingredients couldn’t be assembled yourself.
In a bowl, mix together 100g flour, 160g water, 2 eggs, 1 tsp salt, and 1tbs yam flour (you can substitute potato starch or rice flour, or if not available, just substitute with flour). My kit also included 30g Tenkasu (tempura bits), but this is really not a necessary addition. Stir in 300g green cabbage, finely sliced, 2 spring onions, sliced, and 100g raw, peeled shrimp. Brush a frying pan with a little vegetable oil and heat till hot and then reduce to medium. Pour some of the mixture onto the pan into circles (I like quite small ones). At this point you can add some thinly sliced raw pork chop slices or bacon slices on top if you like (or omit as I did). Turn over when the edges look cooked. Gently press with a spatula to spread out a bit (cover to speed up the cooking if you like). Turn over again and cook till browned on the bottom. Now add the toppings: brush with Okonomiyaki or Tonkatsu sauce (or substitute with a little Worcester sauce), next is a zigzag squeeze of mayonnaise (ideally Japanese), Finally sprinkle with ao nori (dried seaweed flakes) and Katsuobushi (bonito flakes).
