Okonomiyaki

A finished okonomiyaki (bacon side down)
Okonomiyaki is a traditional Japanese food of the Kansai/Hiroshima region that is sometimes called "Japanese Pancake" or "Japanese Pizza".  It's a savory dish that is a bit more like an omelette or frittata than a pancake. It can be made in frying pans but is easiest on a flat BBQ hotplate.

There are many different ways to make this dish and lots of useful information and hints on the Okonomiyakiworld website. This is the way I do it.

Ingredients
  • 260g Okonomiyaki Flour* - or plain flour seasoned with pepper and salt if not available
  • 250ml water
  • 2 eggs
  • 500g chopped vegetables, primarily cabbage, with some carrot, celery, spring onion, onion
  • 4 large mushrooms - sliced.
  • 400g diced seafood - prawns, fish, octopus, squid, etc
  • 12 strips of bacon approximately 15-20cm long
  • Mayonnaise
  • Okonomi sauce - or a HP or BBQ  sauce if not available

Method
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together Okonomiyaki Flour, eggs and water until smooth - reserve about half a cup of mixture aside.
  2. Add vegetables and mix through.
  3. Heat the BBQ or pans and lay down the bacon pieces for each of the 4 pancakes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
  4. Spoon the pancake and vegetable mixture to cover the 4 sets of bacon slices.
  5. Sprinkle the diced seafood and mushrooms on top of the mixture.
  6. Pour the reserved pancake mixture on top of each okonomiyaki to bind the engredients and use a spatula to press them down flat, to about 2-3cm high.
  7. After about 5 minutes, flip over (bacon side up) and cook for another 5 minutes until firm and well-cooked.
  8. Flip onto plates and drizzle with mayonnaise and okonomi sauce.
Serves 4

 Four okonomiyaki on the BBQ hotplate after they have been flipped over to cook the second side

Okonomiyaki Flour* It’s a fine, white flour that’s seasoned with shrimp, scallop, bonito and mixed with another flour made from the exotic sounding Nagaimo yam (Japanese Mountain Yam), which makes the batter sticky and glutinous.