If you've read any of my Japanese restaurant reviews, you may have seen my reviews of London's two okonomiyaki specialists, Abeno and Okan. Both restaurants will give you a great experience although I have to say that Abeno is my personal favourite. On the other hand, if you want to try your hand at making your own Japanese savoury pancakes, they are really not at all difficult to produce in the comfort of your own kitchen. The ingredients are all readily available. You can buy instant dashi powder on line, or if you prefer, you can just use a vegetable stock instead.
When it comes to seasoning your okonomiyaki, you have a number of options. You could use a purpose made okonomiyaki sauce or Bulldog sauce. At a pinch, normal brown sauce will do as well. As for the mayo, I use the Japanese brand, Kewpie. I think of this as a sort of cross between salad cream and French mayo. If you don't have any Kewpie or can't get hold of it, a lite mayo will do as a substitute. The final touches on your okonomiyaki should be a sprinkling of katsuobushi bonito fish flakes and some aonori, powdered laver seaweed. I appreciate you may not have this in your kitchen but if you decide you like okonomiyaki, then do buy some - you'll find katsuobushi and aonori will raise the taste of your okonomiyaki to a completely different level.
I hope this has got you in an oknomiyaki frame of mind. If it has, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Okonomiyaki with Prawn and Squid or just scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.
Happy cooking! Kuurmi XXXX.
ingredients:
(makes 2 large okonomiyaki)
140g / 5 oz sweet pointed cabbage leaves (or any soft cabbage variety )
2 spring onions
60g / 2 oz bell pepper
60g / 2 oz raw squid
100g / 3.5 oz raw or cooked prawns
1 tsp of Japanese instant dashi granules or vegetable stock powder
150ml / 5.3 oz cold water
1 medium / large eggs
140g / 5 oz plain flour
2 - 2.5 tbsp sunflower oil
for the topping:
okonomiyaki or Bull-dog sauce
mayonnaise
katsuobushi bonito flakes
aoko green seaweed powder
a 24 cm / 10 in frying pan
how to:
using a knife, remove the stalk from the cabbage leaves
slice the leaves in approx. 1cm / 1/2 in strips, then chop. slice the tougher stalks finely. put everything in a large bowl
chop the spring onions and bell pepper and add to the bowl
chop the squid and prawns and add to the bowl
add the dashi stock granules to the water and mix
put the flour and the egg in another bowl and mix. then, add the stock and mix together well (you don't need to create a smooth batter, a few lumps are absolutely fine)
add the batter mixture to the vegetables and mix everything together well
heat 1 - 1.25 tbsp of the sunflower oil in a frying pan. when the oil is hot, add half of the okonomiyaki mixture to the pan
cook over a medium/high heat with a lid on for 4 - 5 minutes until your okonomiyaki is lightly browned. turn over and cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes with the lid on. when both sides are browned, carefully slide out onto a warmed plate
repeat for okonomiyaki #2
finally, drizzle with okonomiyaki or Bull-dog sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkle over some bonito flakes & green seaweed powder