I love looking up recipes and trying new, international foods. A few weeks ago I discovered a recipe for okonomiyaki and tried it on a trip to see my boyfriend. We have made it several times since then! This food we had never heard of has now become a staple in our weekly menus.

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese food that is healthy, delicious, versatile, easy to make on any budget. It is a savory pancake type-thing (pronounced “o-kono-mee-yakee”, I think) made from cabbage, onion, flour ,egg, more veggies and water and basically anything else you want topped with mayo and okonomiyaki sauce, which is similar to our Worcestershire sauce . I know that might not sound all that appetizing, especially if you aren’t crazy about cabbage. (And frankly, who is?) But believe me on this one and just try it. It tastes less like cole slaw and more like, well, yummy! Okonomiyaki, means “any way you like it” in Japanese referring to how customizable it is. For example, you could make it with zucchini, carrot and bacon as Kevin from Closet Cooking did, which is how I found out about this exciting new food.
For our first try we followed Kevin’s recipe, which was strangely also my first time making bacon.  Ours didn’t look quite as beautiful as his, but who cares because it was delicious!  Although Kevin describes in detail his method of flipping the pancake, we just flipped it over in several pieces making it less pancake-like and also not as beautiful as the one from Closet Cooking, but still tasting amazing, no less.

Reasons why I love Okonomiyaki
It is healthy It’s full of cabbage and veggies!  Ok, you do put it in a pan of oil, but I still feel pretty good about it’s health content.  Especially when you don’t make it with bacon… Andrew and I made this with broccoli and carrots for my brother who is vegetarian and he loved it too.  Just a note that Worcestershire sauce is not fully vegetarian, but has anchovies in it so it’s ok for pescatarians (vegetarians who eat seafood).  Matt topped his with soy and HP sauce instead.

It is international Andrew and I cannot figure out why this dish has not become a popular Japanese food in America like sushi and tempura.

It is cheap This food works well for those who are frugal, especially poor college students! All of the ingredients are very cheap and easy to find, depending on what you top it with.  It is also a great way to use up stuff in your kitchen like veggies and leftover meat or seafood.  You could get fancy and use more authentic ingredients from an Asian supermarket if you’d like.

It is easy The hardest part really is just flipping it, which we cheat and break it into pieces to do.  Also, my boyfriend’s food processor plays a big role in making this dish for us, but you can easily do without it.  A short-cut could be to use pre-chopped ingredients like the Ready-pac cole slaw mix and pre-shredded carrots.

The possibilities are endless! In Japan the toppings and ingredients vary by region. Typical toppings in the Osaka region are pork, shrimp, even squid.   Since making it that time, Andrew and I have made it with imitation crab meat and broccoli as well.  This is a great recipe to use up things in your fridge, especially veggies.

I like a recipe that gives me some wiggle room.  I hate feeling like I’m not allowed to go beyond the barriers of a recipe. This is definitely a dish that you can make how you like it, that’s it’s name after all.  Like how there are zillions of pizza variations and they are all still pizza, the same is true of okonomiyaki variations (Okonomiyaki is also callled “Japanese pizza).  Try out your culinary creativity on it, but I recommend starting with the basic recipe first and branch from there.

Here is a basic recipe that can be modified with your own toppings as you like, but first try the one from Closet Cooking:

Andrew and Bridget’s Easy “As you like it” Okonomiyaki Recipe:

Serves 2 hungry people with leftovers for 1

1/3-1/4 of a head of cabbage shredded (2-3 cups shredded if using pre-shredded)

1/2 cup grated/shredded carrot

1/2 onion chopped

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

1 egg

Oil for pan ( we used vegetable oil)

Mayonnaise

Worcestershire sauce

Whatever else you want!

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well mixed.  Heat oil in a large frying pan and place mixture in the pan.  How long it takes to cook will vary on the thickness of the pancake.  The original recipe says 5-15 minutes.  Use a spatula to check if the edges are browning.  When one side looks cooked and golden brown, flip and cook the other side until it is golden brown too.

Top with mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce. I am not a mayo fan, but on the okonomiyaki is is fantastic paired with Worcestershire sauce.

Here is how Closet Cooking flips theirs:
“I like to make one large pancake rather than making several smaller ones. I use my large non stick pan and when I flip the pancake I flip it onto a large plate, flip it onto another large plate and finally flip it back into the pan. (It sounds a bit complicated but it is much easier than trying flip that large pancake with a spatula.)”
Hopefully this Japanese dish will make its way to your food repertiore and bellies as it did ours!