Japanese Homemade Okonomiyaki

Japanese Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake-like dish that’s a popular comfort food in Japan. The word “okonomiyaki” literally means “grilled as you like it” in Japanese, which is fitting because the dish is very customizable, in this case it’s an octopus and bacon okonomiyaki with some mayo and aonori topping ;D

But there are a ton of fillings and topping you can use, some of the more popular fillings are buta (pork belly), lots of types of seafood (like shrimp, squid or octopus), lots of vegetables (although the basis is always cabbage, you can add a ton of different vegetables, carrots, onions and bean sprouts are popular options) and noodles are also a popular variation.

For toppings, of course okonomiyaki sauce (this is a thick, savory and sweet sauce, I kinda don’t like it too much, just because I like my okonomiyaki more savory and the traditional sauce makes it more sweet and savory), japanese mayo, aonori (dried powdered seaweed), katsuobushi (dried flakes of smoked bonito fish) and beni shoga (pickled red ginger).

The base of an okonomiyaki pancake is a batter made with flour, water or dashi (a Japanese broth), eggs, and shredded cabbage. From there, you can add a variety of ingredients such as thinly sliced meat, seafood, scallions, cheese, or other vegetables. Some people even add noodles or mochi (a type of rice cake) to the batter.

The batter and ingredients are mixed together and cooked on a griddle or hot plate until golden brown on both sides. Once cooked, okonomiyaki is typically topped with a variety of sauces such as okonomiyaki sauce (a sweet and savory sauce), mayonnaise, and dried bonito flakes, let’s check the recipe!

Servings: 2
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Okonomiyaki is a comforting and satisfying dish that's often eaten as a street food or in casual restaurants in Japan. It has a hearty and savory flavor and a satisfying texture, with the cabbage adding a nice crunch to the pancake. The toppings and sauces also add a lot of flavor and depth to the dish.

Ingredients

Okonomiyaki Flour – 100gr
Water – 160ml
Eggs – 2L
Cabbage – 300gr
Onion – 1 Small
Chives – 1 (Minced)
Octopus – 150gr (2 Tentacles Cut into Cubes)
Bacon – 3 Thick Slices (I used Fresh Bacon)
Mayonnaise – To taste (Japanese like Kewpie if Possible)
Aonori – To taste (Powder Seaweed)
Sunflower Oil – To taste

Directions

In a large bowl add the okonomiyaki flour with the water and mix until everything is smooth, no need to whisk, a little lumpy is fine.

Then chop the onion, chives and cabbage you want them to be very thin, also chop the octopus into small pieces.

Add everything to the okonomiyaki mixture, followed by the eggs, mix everything together a bit to get everything mixed, again no need to overdo it, it’s like any pancake a bit of a lumpy batter is good, and set aside to rest.

Now you will cut the bacon into large pieces (in my case I cut it into 3 parts each slice) and in a frying pan you will fry the bacon a little, you don’t have to fry it completely, just enough, so you don’t have to worry about it getting fully cooked when you add it to the okonomiyaki (if the bacon is thin you don’t need to do this step), remove the bacon from the pan.

Now you will pour some oil in the skillet and pour half the batter in the center, you want a tall pancake, followed by half the bacon on top, let it cook in a hot skillet for about 3 minutes.

Then flip the pancake over and cook for another 4 minutes or so until golden brown.
Finally, turn one last time and cook for another 4 minutes until you feel it’s browned and cooked, remove from heat
Then season with a few drops of mayonnaise and sprinkle some aonori on top, and it’s ready to eat hot!
Repeat the process for the second pancake.
Enjoy! In case you enjoyed the recipe, make like and share with your friends! 😉

Notes: The good thing of okonomiyaki is that you can make it perfect to your taste, even if it might not be a traditional japanese topping, you can make a mushroom one or a chicken one or a spicy one, it’s up to you!

This recipe for Japanese Homemade Okonomiyaki was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Okonomiyaki com Bacon foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.