Time:
30 minutes
Okonomiyaki Yield: Serves 4
Traditionally cooked at a grill set
into the table or counter, this savory
Japanese pancake is a natural for the skillet.
I
wish I could tell you that I am a student Okonomiyaki is typically cooked on a
of Japanese cuisine. I’m not. hot griddle, which can be anywhere from
I am, however, a master of eating personal-size to counter-length. Your skillet
just about everything put in front of is more on the personal-size end of the
me. A few times when I’ve been in Japan, continuum, and it works quite well for this.
what’s been put in front of me has been In Japan, okonomiyaki sauce is easy to
okonomiyaki. find in the supermarket and people aren’t
There are different styles that vary any more likely to make it themselves
by region, and the idea of one true than I would be to make, say, ketchup. But
okonomiyaki recipe is like having the where I live, the reality is that even in Asian
one true pizza recipe—good luck with markets it can be tricky to find, so it’s good
that. It depends on the style you’re after. to know you can use ingredients you might
It depends on the toppings you want. It already have to make a sweet and umami-
depends—and this part is key—on what you loaded sauce.
have on hand. So consider this recipe a
blueprint and feel free to tinker.
138 Will It Skillet?
INGREDIENTS flour and vegetables and stir gently, only
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour enough to bring everything together.
3 scallions, green and white parts 3 Place the skillet over medium-high
finely chopped separately heat, add the oil to the skillet, and heat
31⁄2 cups shredded cabbage until it’s hot but not smoking, about
(about half a small head) 2 minutes. Add half the batter and push
it down with a spatula to flatten into a
1⁄2 cup water
thick pancake, leaving about 1/2 inch of
3 large eggs the pan visible around the batter. (This
1⁄2 teaspoon salt will give your spatula room to slide under
1 teaspoon neutral-flavored oil later.) Turn the heat to medium and cook
(such as canola or peanut) until the underside is browned, about
6 strips bacon 4 minutes.
Toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallion 4 Place 3 strips of the bacon atop
greens, Okonomiyaki Sauce the pancake. You may need to cut or
(recipe follows, or store-bought), bend the bacon so it fits. Flip the pancake
and mayonnaise, for serving so that the bacon is touching the skillet.
If the pancake comes apart when you flip
NOTE it, don’t worry—use a spatula to herd any
• Cole slaw mix is often sold near the stray parts back together. Cook until the
salad greens in the supermarket and bacon is crisp (lift the edge of the pancake
can be substituted for the cabbage in with a spatula to check) and no uncooked
equal volume. egg remains, about 5 minutes more.
1 Preheat the oven on its lowest 5 Place the finished okonomiyaki on a
plate and move it into the oven to keep it
setting. (This allows you to keep the first warm.
okonomiyaki warm while you finish the
second.) 6 Repeat Steps 3 through 5 with the
remaining batter and bacon. Because of the
2 In a large bowl, combine the flour, the bacon fat, you probably won’t need to add
white parts of the scallions, and the cabbage. more oil. In fact, depending on how much
In a small bowl, combine the water, eggs, bacon fat is in the skillet, you may need to
and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the pour some off before continuing.
140 Will It Skillet?
7 Cut the okonomiyaki into quarters
and top with sesame seeds and scallion
Okonomiyaki
greens. In Japan, the sauce and mayonnaise Sauce
are often drizzled with a squeeze bottle
in a zig-zag pattern over the okonomiyaki, Time: 5 minutes
but you may also serve them on the side. Yield: About 1/3 cup
Leftovers can be refrigerated in a covered
P
container for up to 2 days.
ro tip for when you’re measuring out
ingredients for this umami-soaked
TIP sauce: A drop of oil rubbed on
" When it comes to flipping the the measuring spoon or a quick spritz of
okonomiyaki, one swift and fluid nonstick cooking spray makes measuring
motion is best. Tentative poking honey much easier—it slides out rather
around gives the whole thing more than sticking.
opportunity to fall apart. Okonomiyaki
can sense fear, so be fearless and just INGREDIENTS
go for it. 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons honey
Variation
" Replace the shredded cabbage with an 1 teaspoon ketchup
equal amount of shredded broccoli stalks, 1⁄2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
sometimes available as broccoli slaw in
the produce section. NOTE
• Peel the ginger first. Do it the easy way:
Use a spoon to scrape off its outermost
layer.
In a small bowl, combine all of the
ingredients and mix well with a fork.
Main Courses 141
