Osaka Style Okonomiyaki with Prawns and Bacon
Osaka style okonomiyaki: a thick, cabbage-packed Japanese pancake with prawns folded through the batter and streaky bacon crisping on top, finished with okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise and katsuobushi that moves in the heat.
Servings: 4 pancakes
Calories: 254kcal
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Equipment:
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients:
Igredients for Okonomyiaki:
- ½ Small Sweetheart Cabbage - cut into rough 3 cm pieces, not finely shredded, and dried well
- ½ lbs Raw King Prawns - (225g) cut into 4 pieces
- 3 Rashers of Unsmoked Streaky Bacon - cut in half
- 3.5 oz Plain Flour - (100g)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Medium Potato - (150g) or Yam
- ½ cup Vegetable Stock - you can use Dashi or leftover Ramen
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Spring Onion - finely sliced
- 1 Small Shallot - finely sliced
- 3 Garlic Cloves - grated
- 1 tsp Fresh Ginger - grated
- 2 tbsp Oil for frying
Ingredients for Okonomiyaki Sauce:
- 3 tbsp Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Sweet Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
Other Toppings:
- Kewpie Mayonnaise
- Katsuobushi
Instructions:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together plain flour, baking powder, stock, and egg until no lumps remain. Add grated potato and black pepper and mix well. Cover and let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes.
- While the batter rests, cut the cabbage into rough pieces about 3 cm across, not finely shredded, and dry it well in a salad spinner or a clean tea towel. Keep it in a separate bowl until you are ready to cook.
- Mix the okonomiyaki sauce ingredients together, cut the bacon in half, slice the spring onion and shallot, and grate the ginger and garlic.
- Fold the cabbage, prawns, ginger, garlic, shallot and spring onion through the rested batter for about 30 seconds. Do not beat it. If the mixture looks loose, beat in another egg.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Add a quarter of the mixture and shape it into a round about 2 cm thick, then lay half the bacon on top. Do not press it down: Osaka style is meant to stay tall and airy, and flattening it forces out the air.
- Cover the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the edges look set and the base is deep golden.
- Flip it in one decisive movement, using two fish slices if that helps, then cover again and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. It is ready when the prawns are pink and opaque and a skewer pushed into the thickest part comes out clean and hot.
- When ready, remove the Okonomiyaki from the pan and garnish it with sauce, mayonnaise, and katsuobushi. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes:
Cabbage: cut it into rough pieces about 3 cm across and dry it well. Do not shred it finely, which is what makes the pancake soggy.
Batter: thick but pourable. If it looks loose and will not hold together, beat in another egg before it goes in the pan.
Do not press it down. Osaka style stays tall and airy; flattening forces the air out. Pressing belongs to Hiroshima style, where the layers need to bond.
Doneness: the prawns are raw in the batter and the bacon starts raw on top, so cook until the prawns are pink and opaque and a skewer in the thickest part comes out clean and hot.
Swaps: squid or thinly sliced pork belly in place of the prawns, or leave out the seafood and bacon for a vegetarian version. No sweet soy sauce? Use soy with a little honey. No mirin? Honey with a splash of rice vinegar.
Leftovers: cool without toppings, then 3 days in the fridge or a month in the freezer. Reheat in a hot oven rather than a microwave, which costs you the crust.
Nutrition:
Serving: 316g | Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 1.3g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3.5g
