A okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake that is very popular in Japan and especially in Osaka. It is eaten as a main course and is usually shared with several people. It is a rather copious, complete and greedy dish. You are free to personalize it by choosing your filling (meat, fish, vegetables). Its realization is rather simple and fast. However, you need to have some Japanese ingredients that you can buy in Japanese grocery stores or on our online store.
The Japanese ingredients you’ll need for okonomiyaki
1 Okonomiyaki sauce, an essential ingredient to make a real okonomiyaki. This sauce givesokonomiyaki its flavor.
2 Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise, it is lighter than the French one.
3 Dashi powder for more convenience. You have the possibility to make it yourself, it will be even better.
4 A bag of kastuobushi. It is dried and grated bonito in fine shavings. They bring character to the whole and bring a very pleasant visual touch. Indeed, they dance under the effect of heat.
5 Aonori which will bring a very nice seaweed taste to the okonomiyaki.
We have tried substituting ingredients such as French mayonnaise but the overall taste suffered. If you want to find the flavors of the real okonomiyaki, you absolutely need these Japanese ingredients! Let’s go for the recipe:
Okonomiyaki recipe
Equipment
- A salad bowl
- A spoon to mix
- A spatula for okonomiyaki
- A frying pan "a crêpière or a plancha"
Ingredients
- 1 bag of katsuobushi "dried bonito"
- 1 kewpie mayonnaise
- 1 sauce okonomiyaki
- aonori
- 1 sachet 10g of dashi powder
- 1 egg
- 150 g of meat or fish
- 2 Chinese cabbage leaves
- 1/2 sachet of baking powder
- 100 g flour
Instructions
- In the bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder.
- In another bowl heat 100 ml of water and add your dashi powder, then mix. I personally use half a packet, if you want it to be stronger in taste you can use a whole packet. Add this hot dashi to the flour/yeast mixture.Add the egg and mix. You get a smooth dough.
- Thinly slice the Chinese cabbage leaves and add them to the dough.
- From this step you can add the filling of your choice, here shrimp and another with chicken and slices of bacon. You have to mix well in the salad bowl.
- All that remains is to cook it in a frying pan or, at best, on a crêpe pan or plancha on the table. Cook the slices of bacon in squares and place them on the plate once golden.
- Place the okonomiyaki paste on the pan over medium heat to brown the surface. 5 minutes on each side is enough, see if the raw filling is cooked through.
- You can turn it around with your spatulas. If you don't have any, you can always buy this set of two spatulas that are really great for cooking. They will make your life easier every day.
- We finalize with the sauces.
- First the okonomiyaki sauce, draw parallel lines close together quickly on the okonomiyaki. In Japan, they use a wide brush and generously coat the whole thing.
- Then with the kewpie mayonnaise sauce.
- Draw parallel lines over it.
- If you want to make patterns with a knife, just slide the blade of a knife in one direction and then in the other.
- Sprinkle generously with katsuobushi. Then sprinkle lightly with aonori and it's ready!
- Enjoy your meal!
Tips and tricks
We like to add some sauce wasabi (after the kewpie mayonnaise step), we find that it brings a very interesting taste to the okonomiyaki. Even if it is not the original recipe, we like it well with this sauce!
You can add as garnish some red ginger pickled “beni shoga” if you like. As a garnish, you can take pork, scallops, cod, chicken, beef, squid, etc..
The okonomiyaki can be cut hot with your spatulas. These also allow you to round the edges when you place the dough on your pan during cooking. This dish is best eaten hot, with family or friends, so leaving it on a plancha or a crepe pan over low heat on your table will be better.
Okonomiyaki should have a thick consistency but still be soft in the mouth. This very tasty dish can be enjoyed with a japanese beer or umeshu for example!
This is a quick recipe to make and to share with friends! So don’t hesitate! Don’t worry, your sauces and ingredients will be useful for many other recipes like takoyaki or miso soup for example!
Frequently asked questions about Okonomiyaki
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🥮 What is okonomiyaki?
L’okonomiyaki is a kind of salted Japanese pancake with a lot of filling and is very popular in Japan. It is a classic and friendly Japanese dish that is often eaten with friends in restaurants. -
🍗 What are the ingredients of okonomiyaki?
Okonomiyaki is made of several typically Japanese ingredients
Dashi,
Katsuobushi
Aonori
Kewpie mayonnaise
Okonomiyaki sauce from OTAFUKU,
Chinese cabbage,
For the ingredients of the stuffing, we find shrimps, meat, eggs… it’s up to you to make according to your taste. -
🥢 Are there several versions of okonomiyaki?
Indeed,okonomiyaki being very popular, there are many versions such as Monjayaki from Tokyo or Hiroshimayaki coming from Hiroshima as its name suggests. Although they are okonomiyaki, the appearance and the ingredients of the latter are very different depending on the region.
