Ivan Orkin's Savory Pancakes (Okonomiyaki) Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why is my okonomiyaki soggy? ›

Make sure you only add the batter to the vegetables at the last minute before cooking. If you leave the vegetables in the batter too long, the water will come out and you'll have a soggy mess that's impossible to flip without breaking.

I've seen okonomiyaki referred to as a “Japanese pizza” or “Japanese frittata” in the U.S. The batter is made with flour, tempura scraps (tenkasu), grated yam (nagaimo or yamaimo), and eggs. It's then mixed with shredded cabbage and sometimes additional ingredients like shrimp and squid.

Once one side of the okonomiyaki has been sufficiently cooked, the spatulas are used one in each hand to flip it onto the other side. This is the most difficult part of the process, and one needs to make sure that the okonomiyaki has been cooked through enough to hold together.

When the okonomiyaki is ready, it is served sizzling on the hot iron plate. You eat the okonomiyaki from the hot iron plate, cutting and dividing it into bite-sized pieces with a spatula called a hera. Local people eat directly from the hera, but you can also use chopsticks and eat from a plate.

Adam Liaw uses plain flour cut with potato or cornflour in his batter, which, thanks to the lower protein content, delivers a softer, almost melting texture, though rest assured that you can make excellent okonomiyaki without it (Nancy Singleton Hachisu calls for udon or pastry flour in her book Japan: the Cookbook, ...

This fiber increases performance in the stomach and intestines, removes excessive fat, and works to expel cholesterol and salt from the body. Dietary fiber is easily ingested by eating Okonomiyaki, and it is great for your overall health.

A close cousin to okonomiyaki is hiroshimayaki, or Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

Bonito flakes - known as katsuobushi in Japanese - are a strange food upon first sight. They are known to move or dance when used as a topping on foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki. It can be an odd sight upon first viewing if moving food makes you squeamish.

Nappa cabbage has a more prounounced flavor and softer texture while round cabbage has crunchy neutral flavor and texture. But you can throw whatever you want in Okonomiyaki. There is no rule for that, it just ingredients mixed with batter finished with the typical sauce.

The word "okonomiyaki" is derived from "okonomi" meaning "as you like" and "yaki" meaning "grilled. It's commonly referred to as being a Japanese pancake. Accurate to its name, okonomiyaki can be served with a variety of toppings which include everything from meat and seafood to vegetables and cheese.

How much does okonomiyaki cost in Japan? ›

Cheap street food like okonomiyaki, takoyaki, ramen, soba and udon costs between 500 and 1,000 JPY (4.60 to 9.25 USD).

When the pancake is cooked, it is topped with mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce and garnished with bonito flakes and aonori (dried green seaweed flakes) or crumbled nori. Aonori is available at Japanese markets.

Drizzle the okonomiyaki with Worcestershire sauce and thin strips of squeezed mayo. Top with sesame seeds, pickled ginger, and nori. Sprinkle with microgreens, if desired. Serve hot.

There are two significantly different types of Okonomiyaki. First, the Kansai or Osaka style, in which the ingredients are all mixed into a batter and then grilled. Second, the Hiroshima style, in which a small crepe-like pancake is grilled and then other ingredients are layered on top.

At restaurants you can either mix and cook everything yourself right at your table, or ask the staff and they will be more than happy to make it for you. The meats, vegetables and batter are all mixed together in a bowl and poured onto a piping hot griddle.

The most popular ones come from Osaka and Hiroshima Prefecture. Each Okonomiyaki has distinctive preparation method, producing very different mouth feel when we eat it. Osaka style Okonomiyaki is mushy and doughy (the recipe is in my The Japanese Kitchen), so I prefer Hiroshima style.

If the batter seems too wet, add more flour. If too thick, add more water. Heat frying pan on medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of cooking oil then lay two pieces of bacon.

Okonomiyaki Recipe Tips

If your cabbage is too chunky, they won't hold together well, and they'll have a denser, less delicate texture. I always use my mandoline when I make this recipe. If you don't have one, finely shred the cabbage in a food processor or with a sharp knife.

Soggy pancakes may be as a result of the batter being too thick. You may have undercooked them or not used enough fat to cook them properly. Alternatively, the batter may be of the correct consistency but you may have used too much of it for each pancake.