Osaka's savory cabbage pancake with pork belly, glossed with okonomi sauce, mayo, bonito, and aonori.
Okonomiyaki literally means 'grilled how you like it' — and the Osaka version is the most beloved across Japan. A pancake batter of flour, dashi, eggs, and grated nagaimo (mountain yam) folds in a mountain of finely shredded cabbage and a scatter of scallions, then is griddled with strips of pork belly laid over the top, flipped once, and finished with sweet-dark okonomi sauce, mayonnaise drizzled in tight stripes, bonito flakes that dance from the steam, and a snow of seaweed flakes. Each bite is smoky, sweet, savoury, soft inside and lightly crisp outside. Osaka is the spiritual home; even teppan tabletops in casual restaurants come with spatulas for you to flip your own.
Serves 4
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a wide bowl. Whisk in cold dashi, grated nagaimo, and eggs until smooth. Rest 10 minutes.
Add shredded cabbage, scallions, pickled ginger, and tenkasu. Toss thoroughly — the batter should barely hold the cabbage together; this is correct, it shouldn't look like a pancake batter.
Heat a wide nonstick skillet or flat griddle over medium-low. Brush with 1/2 tbsp oil.
Spoon a quarter of the mixture into the pan and press into a thick disc about 2.5 cm tall and 18 cm across. Do not press too flat — it should be substantial.
Lay 4–6 slices of pork belly over the top, completely covering the pancake. Cover loosely with a lid and cook 6 minutes until the underside is deep golden.
Use a wide spatula (or two) to flip the okonomiyaki — pork side now down on the pan. Press lightly. Cover and cook 5 more minutes until the pork is browned and the pancake is set throughout.
Flip a final time so pork is on top. Cook 1 more minute uncovered. Slide onto a warm plate, pork side up.
Drizzle generously with okonomi sauce in a zigzag, then Kewpie mayo in tight perpendicular stripes. Drag a toothpick through if you want the bakery-look pattern.
Scatter bonito flakes — they will dance in the steam — and dust with aonori. Slice into quarters with a sharp knife. Eat immediately while the bonito is still moving.
Grated nagaimo (mountain yam) makes a lighter, fluffier interior. If you can't find it, grated potato is acceptable.
Don't press the pancake into a thin crepe — Osaka okonomiyaki is a substantial 2.5 cm thick.
Slice cabbage as finely as possible — fat ribbons of cabbage stay crunchy and tear the pancake apart.
Modan-yaki: with fried noodles layered in.
Hiroshima-style: built in layers with noodles, more like a constructed lasagna; very different from Osaka.
Seafood okonomiyaki: replace pork with shrimp and squid pieces folded into the batter.
Best eaten immediately. Cooked leftovers refrigerate 1 day — reheat in a skillet to crisp the bottom. Make-ahead is not really a thing here.
Okonomiyaki evolved from funoyaki, a tea-ceremony crepe of the 16th century. Modern Osaka-style emerged in the post-WWII period from wartime substitutes (cabbage replacing scarce ingredients). Today there are over 5,000 okonomiyaki restaurants in Osaka alone, and the city declared a public okonomiyaki day in 2008.
Mix 4 tbsp ketchup + 2 tbsp Worcestershire + 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp oyster sauce. Heat 2 minutes to thicken. Close enough.
Yes — skip pork and egg, increase batter slightly, and use vegan mayo. Top with shiitake and tofu for protein.
Per serving (360g / 12.7 oz) · 4 servings total
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