Osaka Okonomiyaki

About This Recipe

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.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200 gall-purpose flour
• 1 tspbaking powder
• 1/2 tspfine salt
• 240 mlcold dashi (or water + 1 tsp dashi powder)
• 100 gnagaimo (mountain yam), peeled and grated (substitute grated potato)
• 4 largeeggs
• 600 ggreen cabbage, very finely shredded
• 4scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsppickled red ginger (beni shoga), chopped
• 1 tbsptenkasu (tempura crumbs), optional
• 300 gthinly sliced pork belly
• 2 tbspneutral oil
• okonomi sauce (or homemade: 4 tbsp ketchup + 2 tbsp Worcestershire + 2 tbsp soy + 1 tbsp sugar)
• Japanese mayo (Kewpie) for drizzling
• 1 handfulbonito flakes (katsuobushi)
• 1 tbspaonori (green seaweed flakes)

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix base batter

   Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a wide bowl. Whisk in cold dashi, grated nagaimo, and eggs until smooth. Rest 10 minutes.

2. 2

   Add the bulk

   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.

3. 3

   Heat griddle

   Heat a wide nonstick skillet or flat griddle over medium-low. Brush with 1/2 tbsp oil.

4. 4

   Build one okonomiyaki

   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.

5. 5

   Lay pork belly on top

   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.

6. 6

   Flip with confidence

   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.

7. 7

   Flip once more and check

   Flip a final time so pork is on top. Cook 1 more minute uncovered. Slide onto a warm plate, pork side up.

8. 8

   Dress aggressively

   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.

9. 9

   Finish

   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.

Variations

• •

  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.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. Cooked leftovers refrigerate 1 day — reheat in a skillet to crisp the bottom. Make-ahead is not really a thing here.

Frequently Asked Questions