What are the ingredients for making okonomiyaki at home? It’s listed below but to better understand the role of each ingredient, let’s break down okonomiyaki into components:

batter
vegetables
pork
sauce
toppings

The batter is a mixture of flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, eggs and dashi. As with most pancakes, allowing the batter to rest makes the okonomiyaki fluffier. After the batter has rested, stir in tempura scraps, pickled ginger, scallions and sliced white cabbage.

Prep your pork belly slices and sauce. Pork belly is traditional but if you want to go meatless, just omit it and your okonomiyaki will still be delicious.

Now, the cooking begins. Because you will need to flip the okonomiyaki to cook it on both sides, it’s a good idea not to make it too large. For this recipe, the batter was divided into two portions.

Coat the cooking surface of a cast iron pan with oil and drop in one portion of the batter. Flatten to a uniform thickness and form into a disc.

Adding pork belly to partially cooked okonomiyaki

Arrange pork belly slices on top and cook until the okonomiyaki is browned underneath and firm enough to be flipped over.

Flip the okonomiyaki and continue cooking until the pork is browned, lightly crisp and fully cooked. Slide on to a plate, drizzle in the prepared sauce and mayo, and garnish with bonito flakes and aonori.

Okonomiyaki

Connie Veneracion

There is no standard thickness for okonomiyaki. Choose the thickness you prefer. Note, however, that the thicker the okonomiyaki, the longer the cooking time to ensure that it gets cooked through all the way to the center. You have to balance the length of the cooking time with the stove setting (medium-low, medium or medium-high) so as not to overbrown the outside.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Resting time 30

Total Time 1 20

Course Snack

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 2 eight-inch okonomiyaki

Ingredients

Okonomiyaki batter

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon rock salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup dashi
4 large eggs
½ cup tempura scraps (available in Japanese groceries)
¼ cup pickled ginger coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
1 head white cabbage thinly sliced

Okonomiyaki sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon grated garlic
⅛ teaspoon grated ginger

To cook the okonomiyaki

cooking oil
250 grams pork belly thinly sliced

Toppings

Japanese mayo
bonito flakes
aonori (ground dried seaweed)

Instructions

Make the batter

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and dashi.
Pour the egg-dashi mixture over the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
Cover the bowl and let the batter rest in the fridge for at least half an hour (see notes after the recipe).

Pork and sauce

Cut the pork into lengths that will fit on top of your okonomiyaki.
Make the sauce by mixing together all the ingredients.

Complete the batter

Take the batter out of the fridge and stir in the tempura scraps, pickled ginger and scallions.
Stir in the sliced cabbage.
Divide the okonomiyaki batter into two equal portions.

Cook your okonomiyaki

Heat a thick-bottomed pan (we used cast iron) and generously coat the bottom with cooking oil.
Ladle in one portion of the okonomiyaki batter.
With a spatula, flatten and shape into a disc about three-quarters of an inch thick.
Arrange half of the pork belly slices on top of the okonomiyaki.
Cover the pan and cook the okonomiyaki for about five minutes over medium heat or until the underside is nicely browned and crisp.
Flip the okonomiyaki, cover the pan once more and cook for another four to five minutes.
Slide the okonomiyaki on a plate.
Cook the remaining batter and pork belly.