Okonomiyaki – The “As You Like It” Japanese Pancake

About eight months ago 永次 and I had a huge shift in our diet and the transition definitely put a damper on our Japanese immersion meals, simply because we were too busy learning our new foods. But as you know, we picked up some fuel for the Immersion Train (yes, I’m still using that term!) last week which included an overload of 赤みそ and お好みソース! The お好みソース inspired me to revisit お好み焼き, a recipe that typically calls for egg, and attempt to make it without the egg for 永次 and myself. So, what do you say to a nice breakfast to go along with your Japanese study?

   
   

お好み焼き [おこのみやき] is a dish made all over Japan, with many variations to the recipe depending on what part of the country you’re in. There are definitely complex ways to make お好み焼き, with lots of hard-to-find Japanese ingredients, but this recipe is a simple one you can make at home while doing immersion.

Batter Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar°
1 tsp baking soda°
1 – 2 cups fresh spinach/kale/nappa cabbage/ or your green of choice [minced]
3/4 cup rice milk or water
1/4 tsp salt
お好みソース (okonomi sauce) If you don’t have access to お好みソース, don’t worry, there are lots of sauces that taste good on top. かつソース (katsu sauce, aka tonkatsu sauce) is great, even てりやきソース (teriyaki sauce) is delicious. Some regions call for Japanese mayo on top as well!

°replaces one egg

This is the base recipe. Since it’s really “as you like it”, you can literally add whatever you like at this stage. Things like green onions, shallots, ginger, garlic, seaweed, etc are great examples. Go crazy! Okay, maybe not crazy, but this is the fun part. Places like Osaka will load the top up with octopus, shrimp, koibito flakes, yam and even noodles while the Okinawan version (ひらやちー) is very thin and simple. 永次 and I usually like to keep it simple too, but I think tomorrow for breakfast I’m going to try fried apple! (Note: If you do pork, usually you do not include that in the batter, but place it on top of the pancake after it’s on the griddle or pan.)

Directions

1. Preheat pan with oil on medium heat.
2. Place all the batter ingredients into a bowl and stir until just combined- do not over mix!
3. Pour a large pancake sized serving out onto your pan. (I find this recipe makes two large servings, so you should have half the batter left.)
4. Add any additional toppings
5. Allow to cook thoroughly on both sides (3-5 minutes, depending on toppings), add sauce of choice and serve while hot!

いただきます！