Ivan Orkin's Savory Pancakes (Okonomiyaki) Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is the main ingredient in okonomiyaki? ›

The batter is made with flour, tempura scraps (tenkasu), grated yam (nagaimo or yamaimo), and eggs. It's then mixed with shredded cabbage and sometimes additional ingredients like shrimp and squid. A classic topping is pork belly slices, placed on top of the savory pancake while grilling.

Make sure you only add the batter to the vegetables at the last minute before cooking. If you leave the vegetables in the batter too long, the water will come out and you'll have a soggy mess that's impossible to flip without breaking.

OtaJoy's label lists sugar, white vinegar, molasses, salt, tomato paste, apple, carrot, peach, dates, onions, raisins, mushrooms, garlic, kelp and spices (you didn't think we were going to give away our secrets, now did you?) among other ingredients.

Once one side of the okonomiyaki has been sufficiently cooked, the spatulas are used one in each hand to flip it onto the other side. This is the most difficult part of the process, and one needs to make sure that the okonomiyaki has been cooked through enough to hold together.

Okonomi Sauce Substitutes: If you don't have Okonomi sauce on hand you can make your own. Easy Okonomi Sauce Recipe: Mix 3 tbs of ketchup, with 1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce, with 1 tsp of Soy Sauce.

This fiber increases performance in the stomach and intestines, removes excessive fat, and works to expel cholesterol and salt from the body. Dietary fiber is easily ingested by eating Okonomiyaki, and it is great for your overall health.

How to Enjoy. When the okonomiyaki is ready, it is served sizzling on the hot iron plate. You eat the okonomiyaki from the hot iron plate, cutting and dividing it into bite-sized pieces with a spatula called a hera. Local people eat directly from the hera, but you can also use chopsticks and eat from a plate.

Bonito flakes - known as katsuobushi in Japanese - are a strange food upon first sight. They are known to move or dance when used as a topping on foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki. It can be an odd sight upon first viewing if moving food makes you squeamish.

Nappa cabbage has a more prounounced flavor and softer texture while round cabbage has crunchy neutral flavor and texture. But you can throw whatever you want in Okonomiyaki. There is no rule for that, it just ingredients mixed with batter finished with the typical sauce.

The main difference is in how they are prepared and the relative amounts of each ingredient. In Osaka style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are mixed together and cooked together. In Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are layered almost like a cake.

Which meal is okonomiyaki usually eaten? ›

It's a fairly staple food the originated in the Kansai region. The two most famous versions are Hiroshima (with the noodles) and Osaka (without, and more eggy/pancakey). It's a common enough dinner and lunch option. Having said that, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is a popular festival street-stall food.

Serve topped with generous amounts of okonomi sauce and mayonnaise, followed by ginger, kelp powder, spring onion greens and, finally, a handful of bonito flakes, if using. Okonomiyaki – is it the perfect comfort food?

Dried Bonito Flakes – Known as katsuobushi in Japanese, this is dried, smoked bonito fish that is finely shaved into flakes. The umami flavour is out of this world, and not as 'fishy' as it smells. We also love watching the flakes curl up and dance when topped over piping hot okonomiyaki!

Okonomiyaki Recipe Tips

If your cabbage is too chunky, they won't hold together well, and they'll have a denser, less delicate texture. I always use my mandoline when I make this recipe. If you don't have one, finely shred the cabbage in a food processor or with a sharp knife. Don't pack it down too much.

If you cannot find okonomiyaki flour, use 100g of plain flour mixed with 2g of dashi stock powder and 1 tsp of baking powder.

Bonito flakes—the dried, smoked shavings of skipjack tuna—are so light that any amount of steam makes them waver and curl, as if swayed by an ocean current. As a result, the pink flakes move when placed atop hot dishes.

Okonomiyaki flour is made of unbleached wheat and soy flours, leavening and spices such as kelp for flavor. It's designed to rise naturally on its own, meaning you don't need to add extra ingredients like nagaimo to get thick, fluffy pancakes.

Katsuobushi (鰹節) is usually dried and smoked flakes made from bonito or tuna. I think it is called, okaka, in some places. (Gotta be careful with that word.) Shaved katsuobushi is a common topping for okunomiyaki.