green garlic okonomiyaki
When people ask me “so like..what’s your favorite dish?” I’m either: too embarrassed to say “chicken fingers with ranch”, offended I must pick one, or forget to mention Okonomiyaki. It’s the savory pancake of your wet dreams you didn’t know you had; generally always made with cabbage and continually evolving to the preferences of the one eating it. Translating to something along the lines of “however you like it”, this Japanese cabbage pizza pancake thing can be a vessel for a myriad of proteins, vegetables and sauces. For me, (based off of the many Okonomiyaki I devoured in Japan), it must have the following to qualify: chopped cabbage and stuff to bind it, okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, and bonito flakes.
When I make something that’s any bit less than traditional, especially as a white dude, I feel like I have to vehemently explain why it is not traditional and present what would have made it more authentic. In this case, the main bastardization is the fact that I did not make a pancake type batter with dashi, flour, baking powder, tempura bits, etc. I wanted to present a version that’s just a bit more approachable to make and focuses more on the beauty of caramelized cabbage. A lot of the okonomiyaki I had in Japan contained poached shrimp, octopus or squid, pork belly, and/or pickled ginger. Mine has no additional protein other than some strips of American style bacon, and rather than chopped pickled ginger I opted for freshly grated. Normally these babies are made on phat griddles and flipped with a giant spatula. I don’t reckon you have any of this at home, so we’re going to use a big cast iron pan (or non stick, whatever) and get crafty. Lastly, I added green garlic because it’s f^&*$ng delicious, just came in to season, and tastes great with cabbage.
Whatever you do, please just buy bonito flakes and kewpie mayonnaise for this dish. Both will be available at pretty much any Asian market and even most larger grocery markets in California. Kewpie is my #1 guilty pleasure - a delicious Japanese mayonnaise with MSG in a squirt bottle with a baby on it. What’s not to love? Keep it in the back of the fridge and bust it out when the kids aren’t home. Bonito flakes (katsuobushi) are ultra thin shavings of fermented, smoked and dried tuna; a gift from the umami gods and one of the main ingredients in dashi stock. If you have a cat they’ll go absolutely bonkers for these flakes…so have fun with that one.
Enough food blogger shit, here’s the recipe. Read it carefully.
Ingredients
1/2 large head of cabbage - Savoy preferably
1/3 cup of thinly sliced green garlic (the white bottoms only). If you don’t have access to fresh green garlic, you can use scallions, no problem
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or chopped pickled ginger)
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
3 eggs
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 slices of bacon
For the “Oko-Sauce”
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (or substitute more Worcestershire)
1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce (optional)
Toppings
sliced scallion tops (the green part)
thinly sliced nori seaweed
bonito flakes
toasted sesame seeds
Kewpie Mayo
Method
Start by making the Oko-Sauce. Whisk together all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and transfer to a squirt bottle if you’ve got one. If not, transfer to a container and set aside. If you really want the squirt effect, transfer the sauce to a plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner off with scissors before distributing.
Remove the solid piece of core from the 1/2 head of cabbage and discard. Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible with a knife and add to a large mixing bowl. Toss the cabbage with a pinch of sea salt before adding in the green garlic (or scallion) and grated ginger. Beat the three eggs in a separate bowl before adding to the cabbage mix. Stir in the eggs, followed by the panko, until thoroughly combined.
Heat a 12” cast iron skillet over medium/high heat with one tablespoon of EVOO. Add the cabbage mixture to the pan, pressing it down and spreading evenly. Use a rubber spatula to make sure the edges are consistent and rounded. Reduce heat to medium and allow the “pancake” to cook for about 6-8 minutes. Using your rubber spatula, very carefully check the underside. If it’s golden brown it’s time to flip. Now since we’re not using cool giant Japanese griddles and spatulas, here’s how this baby is getting turned. It’s a bit tricky:
Run the rubber spatula around the edge to make sure the okonomiyaki won’t stick to the pan. Place a large platter or cutting board over the entire pan. With one hand pressing firmly on the platter and one hand on the handle of the pan, QUICKLY invert the the pan and platter, effectively flipping the okonomiyaki onto the platter. Set the platter aside, return the pan to the heat, and get that bacon out.
Using an additional platter on top of the already plattered okonomiyaki, flip it one more time so that the un-cooked side is facing up again. Lay the strips of bacon over the top evenly. Bring the pan off of the heat and use the same process to quickly and carefully flip the okonomiyaki in to the pan, bacon side down. The trick here is to be quick, confident, and firm. You should hear the bacon sizzling.
Allow the okonomiyaki and bacon to cook on medium to medium/low heat until the bacon is crisped and cabbage is golden (which you can check very carefully with a spatula). It should take about 8 minutes or so. While the bacon side is cooking, brush the cooked top with a bit of the oko-sauce.
Flip the okonomiyaki one final time onto a cutting board. Don’t use a super heavy board like I did or it’s much more difficult to flip! Brush the entire cooked okonomiyaki with more oko-sauce.
To serve, sprinkle your entire masterpiece with sesame seeds, followed by a drizzle of kewpie, another drizzle of oko-sauce, a sprinkling of scallions and nori, then finish with bonito flakes. Cut like a pizza and enjoy with a cold lager. Additional toppings could include, sprouts, tempura shrimp, mizuna or arugula, prosciutto, grilled squid, salmon roe, micro greens, or a bit of yuzu kosho.