Okonomiyaki (Japanese Cabbage Pancake) (source)

This is actually a synthesization of a couple of recipes, the first being from osaka.com, and the other from Joshua Weissman.

Making Dashi

Unless you can find pre-made dashi, you'll need to make some first. I use the cold-brew method:

  1. Fill a 2-cup pyrex container with water.
  2. Add a couple of sheets of kombu seaweed. (these are 2 to 3 inches by 4 or 5 inches or so)
  3. Add a half cup or so of benito flakes.
  4. Cover and let sit overnight in the fridge.
  5. Strain out the solids before cooking.

Ingredients

  • 200g flour
  • 200g dashi
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 6cm nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam) or 2-3 small yukon gold potatoes as substitute -- full disclosure, we've always used potato, someday I'll get some nagaimo from the asian market and try it 😄
  • 1 chunk of ginger, a little smaller than your thumb
  • 1/2 cabbage head (we like a high cabbage:pancake ratio, feel free to use 1/4 cabbage to make it more pancake-like)

Toppers

Making the Cabbage Batter

  1. Combine the flour, dashi, eggs, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.
  2. Peel the ginger and nagaimo (or potato) and grate them both into the bowl. I use a microplane instead and you get a more mashed potato texture to it; it incorporates real well.
  3. Mix everything in the bowl until combined. It's OK if it's still a little chunky.
  4. Chop the cabbage into thin slices 2-3 inches long.
  5. Work the cabbage into the batter until everything is covered in a coating of batter.

Cooking

  1. Heat a pan to medium temperature.
  2. Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
  3. Scoop some of the cabbage batter into the pan, and flatten it so it cooks evenly.
  4. Flip the pancake when it's starting to brown a little. The batter that you can see through in the top will change texture when this happens.
  5. Squirt a little bulldog sauce across the top and let the other side finish cooking.
  6. Flip one last time, squirt bulldog onto this side, and give it a few more seconds for the bulldog sauce on the pan side to carmelize.

Serving

Top with Kewpie mayo, more bulldog sauce, bonito flakes, scallions, and whatever else you might like on it. :)