Japanese Cabbage Pancakes - Okonomiyaki Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Which cabbage is best for okonomiyaki? ›

Okonomiyaki is traditionally made with dashi, the essential Japanese soup stock, so if you have it, please use it in place of the vegetable stock. Half a regular-sized cabbage is all you'll need for this recipe and you could also substitute with purple cabbage.

Okonomiyaki literally means 'grilled as you like it', and is made from seasoned flour, cabbage, and various fresh meats and vegetables mixed together and cooked in a frying pan just like a pancake.

Okonomiyaki flour is made of unbleached wheat and soy flours, leavening and spices such as kelp for flavor. It's designed to rise naturally on its own, meaning you don't need to add extra ingredients like nagaimo to get thick, fluffy pancakes.

The main difference is in how they are prepared and the relative amounts of each ingredient. In Osaka style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are mixed together and cooked together. In Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are layered almost like a cake.

Conehead cabbage

They're sweeter and smaller than a standard green cabbage and have a distinct cone-like shape, she says. Shred these up into a raw cabbage slaw to make the most out of their delicious flavor. “If you see them, you should try them,” she encourages.

Okonomiyaki is sometimes translated into English as "as-you-like-it pancake". However, this may be misleading. Though it does consist of batter cooked on a griddle, okonomiyaki has nothing of the sweetness or fluffiness of pancakes, not to mention that it is usually filled with octopus, shrimp, pork, yam or kimchi.

They are known to move or dance when used as a topping on foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki. It can be an odd sight upon first viewing if moving food makes you squeamish. However, it is nothing to be alarmed about. The bonito flakes move due to their thin and light structure upon the hot food and are not alive.

Shred the cabbage finely.

These come out best when they're made with really thin shreds of cabbage. If your cabbage is too chunky, they won't hold together well, and they'll have a denser, less delicate texture. I always use my mandoline when I make this recipe.

Nagaimo (Yamaimo)

This is Japanese long yam (nagaimo) and it's the most important ingredient to yield a non-doughy, fluffy okonomiyaki. Grated nagaimo yields a slimy, slippery, thick liquid, akin to lightly beaten egg whites. When cooked, it adds volume to the batter and creates a fluffy okonomiyaki.

Japanese yam (either yamaimo which is mountain yam or nagaimo which is long yam), help give the batter a fluffy, bouncy texture. Sometimes people make okonomiyaki without it (just add more baking powder), but I prefer it since it really makes the texture much better.

What is a substitute for Japanese yam in okonomiyaki? ›

If you find it impossible to get your hands on Japanese Mountain Yams (Yamaimo), they can be substituted by White Rice Flour, but then your Okonomiyaki will in fact turn into Korean Pancakes instead. Perhaps just check a normal Okonomiyaki recipe, and if you are gluten intolerant, keep looking for those Mountain Yams.

Make sure you only add the batter to the vegetables at the last minute before cooking. If you leave the vegetables in the batter too long, the water will come out and you'll have a soggy mess that's impossible to flip without breaking.

Monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き, often called simply "monja") is a type of Japanese pan-fried batter, popular in the Kantō region, similar to okonomiyaki, but using different liquid ingredients.

When the okonomiyaki is ready, it is served sizzling on the hot iron plate. You eat the okonomiyaki from the hot iron plate, cutting and dividing it into bite-sized pieces with a spatula called a hera. Local people eat directly from the hera, but you can also use chopsticks and eat from a plate.

In this roundup, I'll focus mainly on green cabbage and napa cabbage as they are most commonly used in Japanese cuisine.

Green cabbage and Chinese cabbage are commonly used in Japanese cooking. Red cabbage is also used, though it's not quite as common as other varieties of cabbage. In Japan, cabbage is a main ingredient in healthy recipes that are low cost. It's also a main ingredient in Japanese comfort food like okonomiyaki.

Many people prefer savoy cabbage to regular cabbage because of its milder flavour and tender leaves. This is the perfect cabbage for using raw and thinly sliced in salads, stir-fries, or braised with butter. Savoy cabbage works nicely as a fresh and crunchy wrap – you can substitute it for rice paper or tortillas.

Savoy Cabbage

It's less satisfyingly crunchy than the hardier cabbage varieties, but does well when cooked. Savoy cabbage can stand up to your usual braises and low-and-slow varieties, but owing to its softer texture, it works in quick-cooking preparations, like sautéeing or stir-frying.