Skip to main content

Easy Okonomiyaki

Kewpie mayo is important for photogenic drizzling, but also it tastes good.


We have gotten cabbage in our CSA a few times lately, and I don't have many cabbage-heavy recipes in my repertoire. So I decided to try my hand at okonomiyaki, which we got to try first in Osaka and then again recently in Eugene.

I didn't bother getting any seafood to put in it, because I didn't know if it would turn out well. But now that I know it's delicious, I will definitely try some squid and/or shrimp in it next time.

I followed this recipe from Budget Bytes for the actual pancake, and this recipe from Vegan Richa for the tonkatsu sauce. I chose both because they looked easy and used ingredients I already had. Perhaps one day I'll experiment with other recipes, but this was yummy and easy.

I shredded the veggies, made the batter, and made the sauce ahead of time. Then, at dinner time, it took about 6 minutes to cook and plate the pancakes.


The Recipe: (serves 4)
4 eggs
1 c water
3 tb soy sauce
2 tb sesame oil
2 cup flour (or less)
4-5 c green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
6 green onions (I used 1/2 of a regular onion and it worked), sliced finely
vegetable oil, for frying
optional additions: seafood like squid, shrimp, or octopus
optional toppings: bonito flakes, green onions, mayonnaise, Sriracha sauce, sesame seeds, tonkatsu sauce

Tonkatsu sauce:
2 tb ketchup
2 tb Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
splash of water
  • Whisk together the eggs, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Whisk in the flour little by little until it forms a thick, smooth batter (3/4 c to 1 cup total).
  • Add the vegetables to the batter and stir until evenly coated.
  • Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
  • Heat 1/2 tb vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat. 
  • If including seafood, add it to the hot grill and saute until cooked through.
  • Add the pancake mixture (about 1/4 of the batter per serving) and spread it out until it is 1/2 inch thick.
  • Cover the skillet while it cooks to hold in the steam and help the cabbage soften.
  • Cook until golden brown on each side.
  • Add toppings

The Verdict:
Overall grade: B+
Overall reason: Not so healthy once it's fried, but it's easy and yummy
Time to prepare: 30 minutes
Husband quote: Maybe you can cook it longer to make it more crispy next time? (This was when I tried to get away with using less oil to make it healthier. Failure noted.)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my  new jar of curry powder  was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at  Korea House  and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...

Red lentil dal

Cucumber salad is key. This dal is perfect. Most of us took seconds, and I'm really excited to eat the last portion that's sitting in the fridge right now. The accompanying salad is really great for adding texture, crunch, and acidity to the meal. I wouldn't skip it. I got it from  Tea for Turmeric  and prepared it pretty much as written, but doubled and with none of the optional ingredients. This recipe doesn't mention any seasoning/dressing on the salad, but adding lemon and salt to it really brightened things up. The Recipe: (from Tea for Turmeric) 2 c red lentils splash of avocado oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 inch ginger, grated 4 small tomatoes, chopped 2 thai chilies, minced 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2+ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 c cilantro, chopped For serving: basmati rice and plain yogurt Salad ingredients: 1/2 english cucumber, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 onion, slic...