Recipe: Okonomiyaki: Vegetables pancakes (Japan)!

This is again a very traditional recipe in Japan. It is most enjoyed in the Southern part of Japan, Osaka for example. You basically go to a “Okonomiyaki” restaurant, where you eat (no reserved seats), you go in and eat at a table that has a “grill” in it, mostly on the floor. Most of the Okonomiyaki has cabbage in it. A lot with sea food, chikuwa (fish cake)…They bring you bowls of vegetables and the mix of pancake and the egg, so the guest is the one who mixes all in the bowl and grill or fry on the Okonomiyaki grill. At the end, when both sides of the pancakes are grilled, then you put a sauce (for example: Tonkatsu sauce, I make my own, simple, with ketchup, Worcestersauce, I could buy Tonkatsu sauce, but we do not eat that sauce very often, so this is what I do).  Once the sauce is spread, then you add a little mayonnaise and Ao-nori (sprinkles of green seaweed, you can buy at any Japanese market).

Let me tell you this: If you are allergic to gluten, I do not recommend this recipe, unless you make your own mix with gluten free flour. Most of the Japanese Okonomiyaki flour is high in gluten and contains “bonito flakes powder”. This last ingredients is used to make Miso soups (Omisoshiru). It also contains Yamaimo powder (potato of the mountain), it is a root like Chinese Yam, high in starch, it is sticky.

Normally, all the ingredients are raw, mixed in the flour and then grilled. I, myself, like to sautée the vegetables, first and then mix to the flour and finally grill. Again, Okonomiyaki means:

Okonomi = How you like it, based on your taste!

Yaki=grill

So, grill how you like it, with what you like it, there are NO RULES!

Have fun and ITADAKIMASU!

100 g okonomiyaki flour

100ml cold water

1 egg

Vegetables in julienne: cabbage, leek, carrot, celery, chikuwa (fish cake), little bacon (2 cups total, so for example 1 cup of cabbage, 1/4 cup of the other ingredients…)

Tonkatsu sauce

Mayonnaise

Aonori

1. Sautée your vegetables first.

2. pour the flour mix, spread nicely in the pan, until it looks like a pancake, let it grill, look if it is gold brown, then turn around as best as you can. (you will need to figure out, how you want to turn around, I just cut the pancake in 4, then turn around the pieces)

3. pour Tonkatsu sauce (if you do not have the sauce, in a different bowl, like 2 TBSP ketchup with 1/2 tsp Worcestersauce), spread into the okonomiyaki. Sprinkle with aonori, then mayonnaise

(PLEASE CHECK MY FACEBOOK PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS, LIKE PICTURES OF THE INGREDIENTS…)

Foo

Oishii desuyo!!!

Susana @ Delicioso y Divertido!