Okonomiyaki (Japanese Savory Pancake)
A pillowy Japanese savory pancake filled with cabbage, topped with a tangy-sweet sauce and creamy mayo. Cooked in one pan until golden and crispy outside, tender within.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 385
- Protein
- 8g
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup water
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons okonomiyaki sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
- 2 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise (or regular mayo)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- 1
Slice the green cabbage into thin ribbons, about the thickness of a dime, moving the knife parallel to the cutting board. You should have roughly 3 cups of sliced cabbage.
- 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, water, and egg until the batter is smooth and thick like pancake batter, with no lumps visible. This should take about 1 minute of whisking.
- 3
Add the sliced cabbage to the batter and stir with a wooden spoon until every piece of cabbage is coated with the flour mixture, about 30 seconds.
- 4
Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a 10-inch non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and slides quickly across the pan, about 90 seconds.
- 5
Scoop half of the cabbage batter into the hot skillet and use the back of a spatula to gently flatten it into a pancake roughly 0.5 inches thick, like a hockey puck shape.
- 6
Cook without moving it until the bottom turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 4 to 5 minutes. Peek underneath with a spatula to check the color.
- 7
Slide the spatula all the way underneath the okonomiyaki, then flip it in one quick motion so the cooked side is now facing up. If it falls apart, it's okay — just push it back together into a pancake shape.
- 8
Cook the second side over medium heat until it is also golden brown and the cabbage inside feels tender when you press the edge with the spatula, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- 9
Slide the cooked okonomiyaki onto a plate and repeat steps 5 through 8 with the remaining batter and the second tablespoon of olive oil.
- 10
Drizzle the okonomiyaki sauce (or Worcestershire sauce) in a thin zigzag pattern across the top of each pancake, using about 1.5 tablespoons per pancake.
- 11
Drizzle the Japanese mayonnaise in a second zigzag pattern across the sauce, using about 1 tablespoon per pancake, to create a crosshatch effect.
Tools you’ll need
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- medium mixing bowl
- whisk
- wooden spoon
- 10-inch non-stick skillet
- rubber spatula
- plate
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