Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake-like dish that is very easy to prepare at home, and makes a good "clean the fridge" meal as many different types of meat, vegetables, and seafood can be added to it. Japanese Cooking: Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake-like dish that is very easy to prepare at home, and makes a good "clean the fridge" meal as many different types of meat, vegetables, and seafood can be added to it. The "base" ingredients for okonomiyaki can be found at your local Japanese grocery store or online. You'll need to buy the following:
- Kewpie mayonnaise
- okonomi sauce
- okonomiyaki flour
- nagaimo root - found in most Asian markets, not limited to Japanese groceries.
- shaved bonito (fish flakes)
- shaved green dried seaweed (aonori)
- eggs
- green cabbage
- pickled red ginger
The word "okonomiyaki" translates to "okonomi" (as you like) and "yaki" (grilled.) So, the choice of filling is basically up to you. Some good combinations are:
- Shrimp, corn, and green onion
- Beef, grilled onions, and kimchi
- Pork, green peas, and bean sprouts
- Seafood combination: octopus, shrimp, & squid
There are two styles of okonomiyaki: Hiroshima and Osaka. We'll discuss Osaka-style here as it's easier for beginners to learn this style first. Hiroshima-style involves using noodles and is a bit more advanced.
Step 1: Add 3/4 cup of okonomiyaki flour to a mixing bowl, and add 2/3 cups of water. Mix well. Add two eggs.
Step 2: Take the nagaimo root and trim off one end. With a sharp knife, peel off the light brown skin. Underneath is a slimy, white flesh. Grate about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of nagaimo into the bowl. Take care not to slip and accidentally grate your knuckles; the nagaimo has a very slimy consistency.
Step 3: Grate about 1 cup of green cabbage. Add this to the bowl. Now, add your fillings of choice and mix well.
Step 4: Heat a large, flat skillet or griddle. Evenly spread 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on the surface. Take your okonomiyaki batter and spread it in a circle that is about 6 inches across and 3/4 inch thick. You will get several okonomiyaki servings out of your batter, so don't use all the batter at once. Remember, you have to flip this like a pancake, so don't make it so big that your pancake turner can't handle it.
Step 5: Let the okonomiyaki cook on one side on medium heat (350 degrees) for about 7 to 9 minutes. The trick is to not turn it too soon; doing so will break the pancake. By the time you flip it, it should be nicely browned on one side.
Step 6: Flip the okonomiyaki and cook the other side for 7 to 9 minutes. Flip it over and cook for 3 minutes more.
Step 7: Remove the okonomiyaki to a plate and with a pastry brush, brush the brown okonomi sauce over the surface. Take the bottle of Kewpie and squeeze lines of mayonnaise across the surface in a criss-cross pattern; it should look like lattice. Sprinkle about 2 to 3 tablespoons of fish flakes on top and 1 tablespoon of aonori on top. Place a tablespoon of pickled ginger smack dab in the middle.
To eat, cut in wedges and pick up with chopsticks. It's really quite simple! Let us know if you try this, and which filling combinations you decided on.
Healthy Cooking Videos has a nice video showing the technique of making okonomiyaki.
(Image: Kathryn Hill)
Comments (15)
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phew. glad dog was cooking, not an ingredient.
I miss the Japanese diner food I used to crave in Japantown.
view art's profile
this looks interesting. i love the other videos too. scallion pancakes are a favorite of mine.
view TheVillageVegetable's profile
Hey, I can reuse my thwarted offense about this morning's "butter" this morning for this!:
I'd love to eat this, but I think we all just threw our okonomiyaki flour away:
Ingredients
wheat flour, baking powder, kelp powder, sugar, sea salt, vegetable oil, monosodium glutamate, dried bonito powder, scallop extract powder, vegetable oil, dried squid (powder, solid), monosodium glutamate, corn sugar, corn starch, sugar, spices, yam powder, corn starch, guar gum, locust bean gum, green seaweed. Product of Japan.
Seriously, I appreciate the recipe and really would love to make and eat this. But it's just too glaringly inconsistent not to say something...
Yeah, and why is MSG listed twice?
view renata's profile
I loved eating this when I lived in Asia, don't know why I never thought to try it at home!
view maryeats's profile
I don't think you need to buy OKONOMIYAKI flour to make this. It would be like buying BISQUICK or a CAKE MIX.
If you google around - there are some recipes out there that just have flour, egg, cabbage and water (or dashi). Dashi is probably where the MSG comes into play. And the okonomi/tonkatsu sauce, too.
view JenPDX's profile
ononomi sauce is tonkatsu sauce? I'm in! I adore tonkatsu sauce and used to put it on everything as a kid.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
I'm not a japanese food expert - I don't think the two sauces are the same - but quite similar. I saw Tonkatsu suggested as a substitute which is what I had on hand.
view JenPDX's profile
Okonomiyaki sauce isn't the same as tonkatsu sauce, but tonkatsu sauce is good when you don't have okonomiyaki sauce. I personally like a sprinkle of light soy sauce on mine, no fancy sauces or mayo (blargh)
view Sarahj's profile
Agree about the mayo. I've used PONZU sauce on mine, too. But then I'd use PONZU on just about anything.
view JenPDX's profile
my favorite food - must use kewpie, bbq sauce, and bonito flakes for authenticity! and crack an egg in the center. yummmmmm.
view Joan in SB's profile
You don't need to use Okonomiyaki Flour...
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of dashi (japanese soup base) or water
1 egg
Also okonomiyaki sauce is not the same as tonkatsu sauce.
But is a good substitute.
I love both preparation styles of Okonomiyaki. Osaka-fu that mixes all the ingredients and Hiroshima-fu that layers the ingredients.
Love to include yaki soba and lot of cabbage in mine : )
Woohoo all this talk about Okonomiyaki is getting me hungry!
view umeboshi's profile
There's a restaurant on St. Mark's place that serves Okonomiyaki. It's one of the few Japanese restaurants in the city where its actually good. I only say this because I know I would never attempt to make this as I can't cook and I would probably make myself sick.
view Aggie927's profile
I love making this at home! I usually use this recipe:
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/holidaytraditionalfood/r/okonomiyaki.htm
But there's a good Hiroshima-style recipe in "Harumi's Japanese Kitchen," too. I usually fill it with cabbage, carrot, shrimp and sometimes chinese sausage, and top with bonito, ao-nori, mayo and tonkatsu sauce.
view SisterRae's profile
Mmmm okonomiyaki~! My favorite part is when it's right off the griddle, hot and steaming so that all the bonito flakes wave about like they're alive.
view spaceagemouse's profile
This is my fav meal and I'm thrilled to see so many other people who love it too! I'm the only person I know who's even heard of it!
(I neeeeed a fried egg on mine. Yum yum yum!)
view Piri's profile