Okonomiyaki (Osaka Cabbage Pancake)

Ingredients

• 300 g white cabbage, very finely shredded
• 120 g wheat flour
• 1¼ dl water
• 1 tsp dashi granules
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 egg
• 4 spring onion, thinly sliced
• 120 g pork belly slices
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 5 g bonito flakes
• 2 nori sheets

Method

1. 1.

   Rest the batter — Whisk the flour, dashi granules and salt with the water until you have a smooth batter the thickness of double cream. Cover and rest it in the fridge for 20 minutes so the flour hydrates and the pancake cooks up light.

2. 2.

   Mix the okonomi sauce — Stir together the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce and sugar to make the okonomi sauce. Loosen the mayonnaise with a teaspoon of water so it will pipe in fine lines.

3. 3.

   Fold in the cabbage — Beat the eggs into the rested batter, then add the shredded cabbage and most of the spring onion. Fold with a lifting motion rather than stirring: the batter should barely cling to the cabbage, not drown it.

4. 4.

   Cook the first side — Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 24 cm non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Spoon in half the mixture and shape it into a round about 2 cm thick, then lay half the pork belly slices flat over the top. Cook for 5-6 minutes without pressing, until the underside is deep golden.

5. 5.

   Flip and crisp the pork — Slide the pancake onto a plate and invert it back into the pan, or flip it confidently with two spatulas. Press down once to settle it and cook for another 5-6 minutes, until the pork is crisp and a skewer pushed through the middle comes out hot.

6. 6.

   Sauce and top the pancake — Slide onto a plate, brush with the okonomi sauce, zigzag the mayonnaise over it and finish with the remaining spring onion, a shower of bonito flakes and shredded nori. Cook the second pancake the same way and eat both while the flakes are still dancing.