Okonomiyaki (Cabbage Pancakes)



 Ingredients:

  • 1 bag coleslaw mix, approx 6 cups
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup broth
  • 5 eggs
  • Canola oil
  • Sesame oil (optional)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • Tonkatsu sauce, for garnish
  • Japanese mayo, for garnish
  • Pickled ginger, for garnish
  • Nori, for garnish
  • Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions:
  1. Dice 1 bunch green onions
  2. In large bowl, toss together 6 cups coleslaw mix, diced green onions, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup breadcrumb, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup broth, and three eggs. Set aside for 10 min to hydrate
  3. Bring a cast iron pan to medium heat
  4. Add a little canola oil and sesame oil to heated pan
  5. Spoon approx half the batter into the pan, flattening it into a pancake
  6. Cook for 4 min, or until golden and crisp
  7. Slide pancake from pan onto an oven-safe surface, like a pizza pan
  8. Place cast iron pan overtop the pancake and in one motion, flip over the pizza pan with the cast iron so that the uncooked side of the pancake lands facing down
  9. Fry for another 4 min, then slide onto a plate
  10. Repeat this process with the other half of the batter
  11. Fry 2 eggs until crisp around edges, keeping yolks runny
  12. To serve, drizzle the okonomiyaki with Japanese mayo and Tonkatsu sauce. Scatter with pickled ginger, top with a crispy egg, sprinkle with nori and sesame seeds
Yield: 2 pancakes, a hearty meal for two

Source: My mother-in-law

Tips:

If I were to do this again, I might make smaller pancakes. The plate-sized ones were kind of difficult to manage. I think this might be one of those things where it's intentionally difficult as an opportunity to demonstrate skill, but I feel that making the pancakes smaller would streamline the process without compromising the flavour.

Original recipe suggested putting the pancakes in the oven while you make the tonkatsu sauce and fry the eggs, but that seemed like it was mostly to keep them warm so that the final product would be uniform between the two plates. But that's a level of perfectionism that I'm not ready for.

Description:

My mother-in-law learned this recipe for one of her sons, who has been to Japan and has a fondness for the cuisine. She enjoyed the results enough to make it for me and Lee-Anne, and gave me her recipe.

Were I to do this again, I'd use less tonkatsu sauce or omit it entirely. It was a little too similar to ketchup for my liking. I was cool with the fried egg, but Lee-Anne isn't a fan of the trend of adding one to things as a way of making a dish seem more gormet. So on a repeat attempt we might have smaller pancakes with just Japanese mayo, pickled ginger, nori, and sesame seeds. Sounds like it would still be a full meal.

Update: I omitted the instructions to make the tonkatsu sauce and made it its own entry. Also, I tried making this dish again, dividing the batter into six pancakes to feed three people and it was very doable.

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