OKONOMIYAKI (JAPANESE SAVORY PANCAKE)

We travel quite a bit and one of my bucket lists is Japan. Although I have been at Narita Tokyo airport more than 10 times, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never got out of the airport. Next time when we go to Thailand, I think it’s time to spend a few days before heading to Bangkok. I love the people, the culture, the history of Japan and most of all, Japanese food. There are a few Japanese restaurants in our city but of course, they are Americanized. Doesn’t mean I don’t love them. If it tastes good (and doesn’t move), I eat it. ha!

Speaking of Japanese food, I got this Okonomiyaki (o-konomi-yaki) recipe from our friend, Andrew, whom we met on our recent Galapagos trip. We had so much fun with the group of people we were with. Love you, Henry, Roger, Gary and Andrew. XOXO We have the same passions – traveling, scuba diving, music and food. We explored the city of Quito in Ecuador and Galapagos and had the most awesome food there, from my favorite ceviche, grilled scorpion fish, goat stew, empanadas, humitas (steamed corn cakes in corn husk), all kinds of fruit/juice/ice cream like tomate de arbol (tomato on tree), quanabana, mora (blackberry), passion fruit… the list goes on an on. Oh, even the deep fried guinea pig! Like I told you, don’t hate me, I had to. If it doesn’t move, I will eat it. ha ha

Back to Okonomiyaki, it is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “how you like” or “what you like”, and yaki meaning “cooked” (usually fried). Trust me, I googled it. 🙂

It’s very simple, requires some chopping which is very therapeutic to me. What I like most about this dish is the possibility is endless, like its name “what you like”, so the batter and cabbage are the basic ingredients and the rest is totally up to you. Some recipes have shrimp, Dashi broth and even pork belly. The recipe from Andrew has all kinds of veggies, starts with cabbage of course, green beans, mushrooms, carrot, green onions, ginger and garlic. I think it’s awesome for a vegetarian recipe. I love cremini (baby bella) mushrooms but you can use any kind you like.

Let’s cook some food!

First, here are all the veggies I talked about.

Then slice the cabbage, mushrooms, chop green beans (1 inch or smaller, I like them smaller), green onions, grate carrot (I used my large cheese grater) and mince garlic and ginger.

Cook mushrooms in about one tablespoon of vegetable oil, medium heat.

Add flour, water, eggs, sesame oil and soy sauce in a large bowl. I used my Golden Mountain seasoning sauce but you can use light soy sauce or regular soy sauce.

Mix together until combined.

Stir in garlic and ginger. Add veggies and mix until coated in batter.

In a non-stick pan, medium heat, add about one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Use a large spoon or a measuring cup to scoop the batter and drop into the hot pan. Press it with a spatula.

Cover with the lid, until the bottom is golden brown.

Flip and cover again until the other side is done.

Depends on how big your pan is, you can fry more than one at a time. I’m making pretty large pancake using 1-cup measuring cup, we got about 6 pancakes. Andrew said he usually gets 12 pancakes.

While waiting, make the dipping sauce which is the easiest sauce in the world. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, I used Golden Mountain seasoning sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar and about 1 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce (less or more to taste).

Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

That’s it. Hope you give this Okonomiyaki a try and thanks Andrew for this awesome recipe! And you guys, please let me know how it goes or what other ingredients you put in your Okonomiyaki. The recipe card and comment box are below.