Okonomiyaki

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Okonomiyaki Tuesday October 25

It doesn't look very appetizing at first.
Try it, then you'll crave it.

A few weeks ago I created the Food and Drink category on this site. However, after some thought, I've decided to create another subcategory called Recipes. Eventually, I'll put a link up top so you can access all of my recipes at once in a list format. I now have three recipes, and at the rate I've been going during October, I'd be willing to bet there will be many more soon to come.

Today we're making okonomiyaki. It's a Japanese favorite for just about everyone, and it's very fast and easy to make. The name is slightly amusing: "konomu"　（好む) means "to like", and "yaku" （焼く） means "to fry". Thus, this food is literally "cooking up some stuff you like".

Ingredients

• 1/2 head of cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package frozen seafood¹
• Japanese mayonnaise† (optional)
• Tonkatsu sauce‡ (Bulldog brand) (optional)

Directions

1. Remove the heart of the cabbage head with a knife and wash the head thoroughly in a colander. Remove any outside leaves that are "flimsy" or turning brown. Carefully remove 4-5 outer leaves.
2. Fold the cabbage leaves inside one another as if you're wrapping up a square-shaped 3" by 3" present. Then, holding down on the top of the "present" you've just wrapped, chop the cabbage into 1/4" thin strips with a kitchen knife. Set aside.
3. Add 1 cup of flour to a mixing bowl. Add water a half-cup at a time while mixing; you are done when the mixture is the consistency of pancake batter.
4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and the 2 eggs and mix again. The consistency should remain similar. If you are unsure, add a little water. Too thin is not as bad as too thick.
5. Mix in the sugar and salt.
6. Add the cabbage to the mixing bowl and stir. There should be enough batter to coat the cabbage, but not so much as to seem like a cake batter.
7. Add your preferred ingredient(s)¹.
8. Apply medium heat to a fry pan with a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. After the oil has heated a little, use a slotted spoon to spoon some of the cabbage mixture into the pan. Be careful, as the oil may spatter.
9. The edges should firm up as if you were frying a pancake. Okonomiyaki shouldn't be too thick, so use the back edge of the spoon to spread it out a little if you have to. Keep in mind that you have to flip this, though, and if you spread it too much you're asking for trouble.
10. After a minute or so, flip. The side that cooked first has more batter by nature of gravity, and we'll go back and cook it again later. We want to "sear" both sides quickly as not to let too much batter get on one side in liquid form.
11. When the pancake is browning on both sides, serve.
12. Repeat until there is no more mixture. If you have excess batter, you can chop more cabbage, of course. Leftover okonomiyaki can be easily reheated, so don't worry about making too much.

Serving

Okonomiyaki should be served with Japanese mayonnaise and Tonkatsu sauce. What people usually do is drizzle a bit of each on top of the pancake, mix around with their knife, and then dig in. This is definitely a fork-and-knife food.

With the proportions I've suggested above, this should make about 3-4 pancakes and feed 3 people. Also, the cake will soak up some oil from the pan, so you may have to add more oil. Due to the oil, egg, flour, and cabbage, this is definitely a heavier dish, and I recommend serving it with iced tea to combat that. If you make it, and it's good, great. Just don't eat too much too quick: it definitely settles in and makes you full.

Notes

¹ Traditionally, people put squid and octopus in okonomiyaki. It's delicious, and that's the way I make it. However, considering the cost, availability, and palatial unfamiliarity of these ingredients in the United States, I recommend baby shrimp. If you're up for the squid and octopus adventure, look for a frozen seafood mixture at an Asian supermarket. If you make this recipe once and like it, go ahead and get creative: other than cabbage, it's your recipe.

† Japanese mayonnaise is sweeter than American mayonnaise, and if you slap Miracle Whip or Hellmann's on, I can almost guarantee the only thing eating your recipe will be the dog or the trash can. What you want is called "Kewpie" (pronounced 'Kyuu-pee') mayonnaise, and you can find it at any Asian supermarket. It comes in a squeeze plastic container.

‡ Tonkatsu sauce is like A1 Steak Sauce. I think oyster sauce, A1, or Tonkatsu would all be good. Tonkatsu sauce is what they use here, and if you buy some, I recommend the Bulldog brand. You'll definitely use it for other things too; it's a great goes-on-meat sauce. You can find it at Asian supermarkets and possibly, international aisles at supermarkets.