Osaka's beloved 'as-you-like-it' savory pancake — shredded cabbage, pork belly and prawns bound in a light batter, griddled, then crowned with bonito flakes, mayo, and tonkatsu sauce.
Okonomiyaki, whose name translates literally as 'grilled as you like it,' is the great street food of Osaka — a thick, savory pancake of finely shredded cabbage held together by a minimal batter of flour, dashi, grated yamaimo mountain yam and egg, then layered with thinly sliced pork belly, prawns and whatever else suits the cook, griddled on a flat-top until the cabbage softens and the outside crisps deeply. It comes out the height of an English muffin and the diameter of a dinner plate, then gets crowned with the four iconic toppings that define Osaka okonomiyaki: a generous zigzag of dark, fruity-savory okonomi sauce (similar to tonkatsu sauce but slightly sweeter), a parallel zigzag of Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, a shower of aonori (powdered green seaweed), and a dancing flurry of katsuobushi (bonito flakes) that move from the steam rising off the hot pancake — a quirk that delights every first-timer. The contrast of the four sauces with the crisp-outside-tender-inside pancake makes it irresistible. The Hiroshima style layers ingredients separately on the griddle and tops with fried noodles; the Osaka style mixes everything into the batter and is the version found in most homes and izakayas. It is the kind of dish you eat with a small metal spatula while drinking cold beer, and it is one of Japan's great democratic comfort foods.
Serves 2
Whisk flour, dashi, eggs and grated yamaimo in a large bowl until smooth — it should be the consistency of thick pancake batter. Let rest 10 minutes; the flour hydrates and the yamaimo gives the batter a slightly elastic, fluffy quality that is the secret to Osaka okonomiyaki's texture.
If yamaimo is unavailable, ½ tsp baking powder and an extra spoon of flour gives a similar lightness.
Add the shredded cabbage, scallions, tenkasu and beni shoga to the batter. Fold gently with a spatula — don't crush the cabbage. The mixture should look 90% cabbage with just enough batter to coat each strand. If it looks too wet, the pancake will be soggy; too dry and it won't hold together.
Heat a 25 cm cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Test by sprinkling a drop of batter — it should sizzle gently but not burn. Patience here matters: too hot and the cabbage scorches before cooking through; too cool and you get a pale, soggy pancake.
Mound half the cabbage mixture into the pan and pat into a thick disk about 2.5 cm tall and 18 cm across. Don't press it flat — it should look generous and slightly domed. Lay 4 slices of pork belly across the top in a fan pattern, then scatter half the prawns over.
Cover with a lid and cook 5–6 minutes over medium-low heat. The bottom should be a deep golden-brown and the cabbage at the edges should look translucent. Don't lift to peek before 4 minutes or it'll fall apart.
Slide a wide spatula (or two) under the pancake, lift, and flip in a single confident motion. If it cracks, push it back together — it'll seal as it cooks. Press lightly with the spatula to seat the pork belly against the pan.
Cook another 5–6 minutes uncovered until the pork is crisp and brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. The pancake should be firm enough to slice.
Slide onto a plate, pork-side up. Drizzle a generous zigzag of okonomi sauce across the top, then a parallel zigzag of Kewpie mayo. Dust with aonori, then heap a small mountain of katsuobushi flakes on top — they'll dance from the rising steam. Cut into wedges and eat immediately.
Cabbage must be shredded finely (2–3 mm) — coarsely chopped cabbage steams unevenly and the pancake won't hold together. A mandolin or sharp knife is essential.
Okonomi sauce is not interchangeable with tonkatsu sauce — okonomi is sweeter and stickier. Otafuku brand is the standard; bottled at any Japanese grocery.
Kewpie mayo (yellow squeeze bottle with red cap) is essential — Western mayo is too tangy and not sweet enough. Worth ordering online if your grocery doesn't carry it.
Don't crowd the pan or try to make a larger pancake — they don't flip well above 20 cm. Make individual ones for 2 people; cook in sequence.
Modan-yaki: layer a portion of yakisoba noodles between two okonomiyaki pancakes — a heartier modern Osaka version.
Hiroshima style: layer ingredients separately on the griddle (don't mix into batter) and serve over yakisoba noodles with a fried egg on top.
Vegetarian: skip pork and prawns; substitute sliced shiitake, corn kernels and a tablespoon of crumbled tofu.
Kimchi okonomiyaki: replace beni shoga with chopped well-fermented kimchi for a Korean-Japanese hybrid that's surprisingly common in Osaka.
Best eaten immediately. Leftover pancakes refrigerate 2 days; reheat in a dry skillet over medium heat 3–4 minutes per side to re-crisp. Microwaving makes them rubbery. Do not freeze.
Okonomiyaki evolved from funoyaki, a thin sweet-savory pancake served at Buddhist tea ceremonies in 16th-century Japan, and was reinvented in postwar Osaka as a cheap, filling street food using rationed wheat flour and abundant cabbage. The modern Osaka style with sauce and mayo crystallized in the 1950s; Hiroshima style developed in parallel as a separate regional tradition.
Yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam) is grated into a slimy, almost mucilaginous purée that gives okonomiyaki its signature fluffy interior. If you can't find it, substitute ½ tsp baking powder — close but not identical.
Dashi is what gives okonomiyaki its background umami. In a pinch, ½ tsp dashida (instant dashi powder) in 100 ml hot water works. Plain water makes a flat pancake.
Either the batter-to-cabbage ratio was off (need more batter to bind), you flipped too early (wait until the bottom is deeply browned), or your pan wasn't hot enough. The pancake firms up as it browns.
Otafuku okonomi sauce contains anchovy extract — not vegetarian. Vegan versions exist (Otafuku Vegan or homemade with tomato ketchup, Worcestershire-style vegan sauce, soy and sugar).
Per serving (450g) · 2 servings total
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