Let’s Make Okinomiyaki

One of my favorite Japanese dishes is okonomiyaki. Many years ago, a sweet friend wrote out a recipe. It’s showing it’s age, but it’s so cute, I wanted to share it with you. I’ll also put some links of videos on how to make this savory pancake. If you are a foodie, you’re going to love this. Yukari did this with pork and shrimp. You can change up the ingredients–you can make a vegetarian version, loading it up with vegetables, but, oh man, I gotta tell you, if you like shrimp, scallops, and or bacon, you are going to love this!

It’s best if you can hunt up an Asian market to get a Chinese cabbage or one of those soft squatty ones, I’m not sure what those are called. They aren’t as firm as the standard, round green or red cabbage, though I’m sure those would work okay too. I’ve never tried either.

***You may have trouble finding the yam powder. Ask at the market. They should carry the special sauce in a Japanese food section. When I first got back from Japan, I had to get a friend in NYC to tromp across town to buy it and ship it to me. It was a huge deal. These days, if you need something, you can order it online. So if you can’t find the okinomiyaki (yam) flour in your store, ask, and if all else fails, you can order on the internet.***

***If you get anxious about trying new recipes, relax. This may seem a bit intimidating, especially flipping the pancake–but even if it doesn’t flip prettily, it’ll still taste fabulous. If you really can’t abide mayonnaise, you can skip it. Don’t sweat it. But if you can, go for it. It is so complimentary to the sauce, you’ll be amazed. And you might even splurge on traditional Japanese mayonnaise in the squirty bottle. I don’t know what they put in it, but squirty Kewpie is a staple with this dish. So savory. Hmm. I’m getting hungry! Might be trundling off to the Asian market today!

My humble apologies about the dingy gray of this. I even laminated it to protect it, but it’s seen some use. I’m still glad I have this treasure. Is 1990 considered vintage yet?