Recipe: Quick Okonomiyaki

Basically "Cabbage Pancakes" - absolutely delicious Japanese comfort food.

Makes 1 large pancake (to share), or 2-4 smaller pancakes.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 eggs
• half a sweetheart or white cabbage
• 2 spring onions

To serve on top (if you can get it):

• Bonito Flakes
• Aonori Seaweed Flakes

+ Any toppings! I suggest bacon or prawns, but feel free to experiment!

Method

1. Shred the lettuce into thin strips
2. Trim and slice the spring onions
3. Mix together the flour, soy sauce, sesame oil, and eggs in a bowl
4. Add a good pinch of salt into the bowl mixture and combine
5. Fold in the lettuce and spring onions
6. Heat a large pan with plenty of vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan
7. Once hot, pour your mixture into the pan and fry
8. Place your ingredients on top of the pancake and cover until the underside has browned, around 3-4 minutes (you could try a splash of water to help steam the ingredients if you wish)
9. Flip (you may need a couple of spatulas if it is a large pancake!) and cook the other side until also browned

Sprinkle with Bonito flakes and Aonori Seaweed Flakes. Serve drizzled with Kewpie mayonnaise and vegetable & fruit sweet sauce (often just named "Okonomiyaki Sauce"). You can find these sauces in most Asian supermarkets, look for bottles that are in bags like this:

Extra brownie points if you have a chopstick or toothpick to hand: drizzle both sauces over the pancake in lines and use a toothpick in the opposite orientation to create a pattern like this: