Kanako's Kitchen

Some Japanese dishes just defy categorization, and none more so than okonomiyaki. In the West, I’ve seen it described in restaurant menus as Japanese Pancakes, Japanese Omelettes, even as Japanese Pizza – which, frankly, is only confusing.

Pay no attention. Analogies fail. In any case, the point is not the pancake itself, but the special sauce, which is what makes okonomiyaki taste a lot like…okonomiyaki!

The recipe I’m sharing here is for Osaka-style okonomiyaki, the city’s signature dish. Though I’ve seen fancy London restaurants serve it as an exotic delicacy (and charge upwards of 12 pounds for one!), in Osaka there’s nothing fancy about it: it’s a cheap, filling, flavorful meal young people adore.

Having grown up in the Kansai region, okonomiyaki is definitely “home cooking” for me. I even went to university in Osaka, and considering college students probably eat more okonomiyaki  than anyone, I’ve certainly had more than my share. But you don’t have to be from Kansai: I’ve found that this is the one Japanese dish that just about every western person enjoys. Even Canadian children, who wouldn’t think of eating most of the weird things I put on this blog, love okonomiyaki.

Though it’s undoubtedly junk food, Osaka people take their okonomiyaki pretty seriously. In this recipe, I try to share a lot of secret little tips and tricks (marked in bold type) so you can make Okonomiyaki like a pro from your first try.

• Cabbage – one quarter
• Pork – 100 grams
• Optional: You could make it with squid, a mixture of squid and shrimp, or a mixture of squid and pork. Some restaurants go on to make any number of weird variations, but personally I stick to pork and squid.
• Optional: Beni shoga – pickled red ginger. Tenkasu – tempura detritus.

For the pancake batter

• All-purpose wheat flour – one cup
• Salt – half a teaspoon
• Sugar – one teaspoon
• Baking powder – one teaspoon
• Water – one cup
• Dashi – two teaspoons
• Eggs – two

Toppings

• Okonomiyaki Sauce – Buy this ready-made at the store. Look for Otafuku brand “Okonomi sauce”.
  (There are people who want to make the sauce at home, but don’t be ridiculous.)
• Mayonnaise – preferably tangy Kewpie brand Japanese mayo
• Aonori – Green nori seaweed.
• Katsuobushi – powdered is best, but flakes work well too.

Preparation

Make the batter

• Heat a cup of water in the microwave and dissolve the two teaspoons of dashi in it
• Let it cool to room temperature
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.
• Add the dashi’d water slowly to the bowl, mixing thoroughly
• Let the batter sit for a good two hours

Prepare the other ingredients

• Chop the cabbage into small (but not tiny) squares – maybe 1 cm. by 1 cm.
• Wrap the chopped cabbage in plastic wrap, microwave on high for two minutes.
  For reasons I don’t really understand, the cabbage you find in the West is noticeably thicker and much harder than the kind sold in Japan, which is why you need to pre-cook it in the microwave. If you’re reading this in Japan, skip this step.
• Slice the pork very thin.

Cooking

1. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the batter, mix
2. Add cabbage (and benishioga and tenkasu if you’re using that) to the batter. Toss the mix lightly, not too much.
3. Heat a large frying pan, add a tablespoon of cooking oil – you need oil even if it’s a non-stick pan.
4. Add a layer of batter 2 to 3 cm. high to the pan.
5. Place a layer of pork slices on top.
6. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
7. Flip the okonomiyaki like you would a pancake. Resist the urge to pat it down – you don’t want it squished.
8. Cook over low-heat, uncovered, for ten minutes.
9. Place on a plate. If you’re sharing, cut it into squares.
10. Add a generous layer of okonomiyaki sauce on top. Then add some mayonnaise. Finally add your katsuobushi and aonori.

Today we didn’t have aonori, beni shoga nor tenkasu, but it was still very good.

When I was growing up, my mom was a typical, strict, health-obsessed Japanese mom, so we weren’t allowed to have Coca Cola or other fizzy drinks at my house. Mom would let us have Coca Cola only when she made okonomiyaki. It was kind of a family ritual, so you can imagine how special the combination of Coca Cola and okonomiyaki was to me.

Even today, I like having a coke with okonomiyaki…but I suppose the more typical way to serve it is with beer.