Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)

Okonomiyaki's dear to my heart, as it was one of the funner lunch choices available during my stint in Japan (the frequent choices being Wendy's (regrettably cheap and the nearest shop), donburi, and whatever was on sale at Seiyuu).

Some background:
Okonomiyaki is a specialty of the Kansai region in Japan, which encompasses Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is often described as a savoury pancake, or a Japanese pizza (a total misnomer). The basic ingredients are cabbage mixed into a batter, then fried with whatever other ingredients you like. The name actually means "as you like."


Ingredients (makes 4):

2 cups flour
1 cup water
fish sauce
0.5 lb thinly sliced pork
1 smallish head of cabbage, about 2lbs, coarsely shredded by the v-slicer french fry insert
3 green onions, chopped (sprigs? stalks? including the white part)
4 eggs

Okonomiyaki sauce
Japanese mayonnaise
Katsuobushi (bonito flakes, dried fish shavings)
Dried seaweed flakes


Method:
Mix flour with water to get a thick batter. Add more water as necessary.
Season with fish sauce or salt.
Let rest in the fridge for an hour (optional).
Fry the meat flat. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix a quarter of the cabbage, green onions and batter together.
Create a well in the centre of the mixture, then crack an egg in and mix together.






Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat.

Place a few strips of meat in the pan. Pour the batter on top and shape into a disc.
Cover and cook on medium until the bottom sets (~5 min).
Flip it, flatten it a bit, and cook until the centre sets (~5 more min).

Transfer to a plate and top with sauce, mayo, bonito and seaweed.









Comments:
We couldn't find aonori, which is seaweed sprinkles, so we used larger flakes of nori instead. It still tastes good, but it has a tendency to stick to your utensil.

If you don't have okonomiyaki sauce, a sweet barbeque sauce would do. You could also make it with ketchup, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and sugar.



Verdict:
Yum! Takes a bit of patience, though.