West Coast Okonomiyaki

Servings4

Time to Cook30 minutes

Time to Prepare20 minutes

Recipe developed for BC Egg by Diversivore

A West Coast spin on a Japanese Classic! Smoked salmon and pickled chanterelle mushrooms add a distinctively Pacific North West feel to this savoury Japanese pancake.

Ingredients

Batter

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups dashi (see note)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup scallions, green portion only, chopped
1/3 cup pickled chanterelle mushrooms, chopped (see note)
3 cups napa cabbage, shredded and loosely packed (see note)
4.4 oz smoked salmon (see note for a vegetarian version
2-3 tbsp oil for frying

Toppings

Okonomiyaki sauce
Japanese mayo
smoked salmon
ao-nori
katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
tenkasu (tempura bits)

Instructions

In a large, non-reactive bowl, whip the egg whites into Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt,
Stir in dashi, sesame oil, chopped pickled chanterelles, scallion greens, egg yolks, mix
Gently fold in whipped egg whites – just enough to
Preheat a skillet or griddle with a tablespoon of vegetable oil (if you have a griddle, it makes these a lot easier to make as you can do more than one at a time).
Place a fairly large handful of cabbage (see note) and ~3/4 cup batter in the center of the skillet/griddle over medium heat and flatten a little with a spatula (see note on thickness below).
Lay a few strips of smoked salmon on top of the okonomiyaki, then cover the pan (or put a pot lid over the individual okonomiyaki if you’re using a griddle). Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Flip and cook uncovered for an additional 2-3 Cool slightly, then add okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, and any other desired toppings.
Repeat steps 5-8 above with remaining batter, cabbage, and Best served immediately, as each individual pancake is ready.

Notes

Pickled Chanterelles – These are easy to make on your own! Visit Diversivore.com for an easy recipe and how-to. If you’d rather, feel free to substitute! Substitution options include other pickled mushrooms, beni shoga (red ginger), and even kimchi. These will of course change the character of the okonomiyaki, but they all share similar sour, salty, and textural characteristics.

Dashi – This savoury stock is made with kombu (kelp) and other dried ingredients. Making your own dashi from scratch is quite simple, but you can also purchase dashi powders and sachets (akin to tea bags) from Japanese stores. If you can’t make dashi, you can substitute 1/4 cup of vegetable stock plus 1 cup of water in this recipe.

Cabbage – The actual amount of cabbage you’ll need can be a bit tricky to characterize. There should be quite a lot of cabbage in okonomiyaki, but exactly how much can vary with personal tastes. I like to use a large but loose handful with each pancake. Also note that the cabbage can be directly stirred into the batter if you prefer. This is easier, though it doesn’t allow you to brown the cabbage against the griddle in the same way.

Thickness – Okonomiyaki should be made to be fairly thick when cooked (around 1 inch/2.5 cm), with cabbage contributing significantly to this thickness. You can go thicker too, but it can make cooking the pancake through a bit more complicated.

Toppings – Okonomiyaki can be topped with a wide variety of ingredients, but okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo are virtually essential! Feel free to mix and match the remaining ingredients to your tastes – ao-nori (seaweed) and a little extra smoked salmon are great options. All toppings (with the possible exception of smoked salmon) can be found easily at Japanese grocery stores. Okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo are often found at well-stocked Western grocery stores as well.

Vegetarian Variation(s) – Any number of okonomiyaki variations are possible, but for a vegetarian variation with a PNW characteristic, try subbing in 150-200 grams of diced and butter-sautéed lobster mushrooms. Note also that many store-bought dashi mixes are made using some fish! Scratch-made dashi can be made with or without fish.