Okonomiyaki

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Why we love it:

Okonomiyaki means ‘grilled as you like it’ in Japanese. Some in the U.S. have called it ‘Japanese pizza.’ We’ve substituted a regular sweet potato (or a russet potato) for the more traditional Mountain Yam because those are not easy to find. These yams are really gooey and give a watery, fluffy texture to the pancake. The grated sweet potato or russet potato, plus more baking powder, will help add airiness and texture, but ours will be a little more dense and chewy than what you might find on the streets in Japan. Sounds like we need to book a culinary adventure!

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Ingredients

¹⁄₄ pound Sweet Potato (about 1 large; use the pale American ones, or a russet potato instead)
5 Eggs (large)
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
¹⁄₂ cup Water
1 cup Flour
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Kosher Salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Baking Powder
1 head Green Cabbage (about 4 cups, shredded with a mandolin or finely chopped, or buy coleslaw mix)
1 bunch Scallions (chopped, divided)
¹⁄₄ cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Sriracha (optional)
1 Lime (zest and juice)
1¹⁄₂ Tablespoons White Sugar
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
³⁄₄ cup Canola Oil (for frying, roughly 1 tablespoon per pancake)
2 Tablespoons White Sesame Seeds

Cooking Instructions

1. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 325 DEGREES
2. BATTER

Peel and grate the sweet potato on the largest holes of a box grater into a large (ideally) glass bowl.

Into the bowl, whisk eggs, soy sauce, sesame oil and water. Gradually add the flour, salt, and baking soda, folding as you go, until its incorporated.

Let the batter rest in the fridge for 10 minutes (and up to 2 hours) or so while you prep the rest for cooking.
3. CABBAGE

Shred or chop the head of cabbage. Aim for very thin slices and chop them to make them no longer than 2” long.

Dice the scallions, both green and white parts. Set aside about ¼ to ½ cup of scallions for garnish and add the rest to the cabbage. (If you prefer the scallions cooked rather than raw, you can add them all to the cabbage instead.)
4. SAUCES

Use two small bowls.

In the first bowl - whisk the mayo and sriracha if using. Zest the lime into it and then squeeze in the juice. Whisk to combine. It will be thin and tangy.

In the second bowl - whisk together the sugar, oyster sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce until smooth.
5. BATTER - LAST STEP

Remove the batter from the fridge and fold in the cabbage/scallion mixture about ⅓ at a time. Doing it gradually will better coat it with the egg mixture.
6. COOK

Set out one or two heavy flat skillets on the stove top. Heat over medium high and add 1 Tablespoon of oil.

Use a 1/2 cup measure to scoop batter into the center of the pan, and let it sit about 30 seconds. Then, you can use the back of the measure to pat down the pancake so it has a flat top and a nice circle has formed. Cook for 4 minutes.

Carefully, flip the pancake over and pat it down if needed. Cook for another 3 minutes on the second side.

Transfer to a wire rack in the oven.

Repeat until the batter is done. You should get between 4-6 pancakes.
7. SERVING

Serve a pancake on the center of the plate. Drizzle with both sauces (traditionally, this fun cross hatching is made), sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with a heaping pile of scallions.

They taste amazing hot and also at room temperature. Leftovers heat up beautifully in a toaster over and make a fabulous breakfast.

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Substitutions

PESCATARIAN:

chopped up raw shrimp, smoked salmon, or tuna are amazing folded into the batter just before cooking. Or, sear the fish or shrimp separately and serve on top for an impressive presentation
EGG FREE/VEGAN:

we have not tried this egg free and recommend making our Brussels Latkes recipe instead if you don’t eat eggs
DAIRY FREE:

just omit the mayo based sauce
KIDS CORNER:

this is a win for kids. You can slice into strips and serve the sauces on the side for dunking. If you think they’ll push back on the cabbage, you can separate out about half the batter, and in that batch, use an extra potato and just a little bit of the cabbage.