Best Okonomiyaki Recipe Okonomiyaki Sauce Recipe

Okonomiyaki is broadly divided into two styles: Osaka (Kansai) and Hiroshima. I’m focusing on the former in this recipe, with a batter that includes cabbage, scallions, and tempura flakes topped with a layer of crispy pork belly.

Why This Recipe Works?

Using dashi instead of water makes for a flavorful and umami-rich Okonomiyaki. Weaving the pork belly gives this a thick, crispy layer of delicious pork on top and prevents the individual slices from falling off from the pancake when you flip it. Slowly cooking this savory Japanese pancake over low heat ensures the cabbage ends up tender and sweet while the pork on the outside gets nice and crispy. Date syrup and a small amount of curry powder add subtle caramel and spice notes that take the homemade okonomiyaki sauce to a whole new level.

Ingredients for Okonomiyaki Batter

Eggs - Eggs provide the leavening for the batter while giving the Okonomiyaki a moist, tender texture. Because this recipe doesn’t use yamaimo, I’ve doubled the amount of egg. Flour - The standard wheat flour in Japan, called hakurikiko (薄力粉), has a much lower gluten content of 7-9%, closer to cake flour or pastry flour than all-purpose flour. This makes for a lighter and more tender pancake; however, it’s possible to make this Okonomiyaki recipe with all-purpose flour if you use cold ingredients and are very careful not to overmix it. Dashi - Dashi is a Japanese soup stock typically made from konbu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried, smoked, and fermented skipjack tuna flakes). Check out this post on homemade dashi for everything you need to know about this. If for some reason, you can’t find the ingredients to make it, you can substitute vegetable or chicken stock or use water instead. Cabbage - Cabbage makes up most of the bulk of this savory Japanese pancake, and it’s a defining ingredient of Osaka-style Okonomiyaki. I always use common green cabbage for this dish, but other types of cabbage, like Napa or red cabbage, will also work. Scallions - Since cabbage doesn’t have a ton of flavor, a generous amount of chopped green onions contribute a ton of flavor to the pancakes. You can also use other members of the allium family, such as chives, onions, or garlic scapes. Tenkasu (optional) - Tenkasu are the little flakes of loose tempura batter you end up with when you make tempura. I usually skim these off and store them in my freezer for recipes like this. They don’t stay crispy in the Okonomiyaki but add a nice flavor to the batter. Yamaimo (optional, not included) - Yamaimo (sometimes called nagaimo) is a type of yam with a thick mucilaginous texture and is a traditional ingredient for Okonomiyaki. I’ve omitted it from this recipe because it can be difficult to find outside of Japan, but if you can find it, you can puree ¼ to ½ cup of yamaimo on the rasp side of a box grater and substitute it for one of the eggs. Other ingredients - As the name implies, Okonomiyaki is meant to be customized with ingredients you like, kinda like a Japanese pizza. These can be seafood like shrimp, octopus, or squid; proteins like bacon, sausage, or cheese; vegetables like carrots, celery, or squash; mushrooms like shiitake, maitake, or shimeji; or herbs like shiso, basil, or thyme. Get creative here and work with what you have in the fridge.

Okonomiyaki Toppings

Pork belly - The pork belly technically isn’t a topping, but because it’s optional and cooked on top of the pancake, I’ve thrown it in with the toppings. It’s essential to use very thinly sliced pork belly here (sliced for hot pot), or it will end up greasy and chewy. You can also use bacon, but be aware that it will increase the amount of salt in your Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki sauce - The traditional sauce used to top Okonomiyaki is a sweet, savory, tangy, and spicy fruit sauce similar to my homemade tonkatsu sauce but a little thicker. While this is the only traditional sauce used to top Okonomiyaki, this is another area you could get creative, and I’ve used everything from a cheesy bechamel to BBQ sauce as a topping. Aonori - Aonori means “green nori” in Japanese. It’s a specific type of seaweed with an emerald green color and a strong aroma that smells like a fresh ocean breeze. Mayonnaise - Japanese mayonnaise tastes tangier and more umami-rich than Western mayo. It also tends to come in squeeze bottles with a narrow tip, making it perfect for decorating Okonomiyaki. Kewpie mayo is a common brand in Japan. Sriracha mayo would also be a great choice here. Katsuobushi - Katsuobushi are the thin tan flakes you often see dancing atop a piping hot okonomiyaki. They’re made from skipjack tuna (sometimes mislabelled “bonito flakes”) that’s been dried, smoked, and fermented, which increases the fish’s amino acid and nucleic acid content while turning it into a thick block that’s as hard as wood. These blocks are then shaved paper-thin on a plane. The smoky-umami packed flakes are used in both the dashi in the batter as well as for topping the pancake. Benishoga - Benishoga literally means “red ginger,” and it’s a type of pickled ginger made by soaking young ginger in ume vinegar, which traditionally gets its vibrant magenta hue from red shiso leaves. Other toppings - Like the mix-ins, you can get creative with the toppings. Some ideas include chopped herbs, scallions, parmesan cheese, kimchi, or mentaiko.

Ingredients for Okonomiyaki Sauce

Worcestershire sauce - Worcestershire sauce is the backbone of Okonomiyaki sauce, contributing loads of spices and a vinegary tang. I used Lea & Perrins brand. Ketchup - Ketchup contributes most of the fruity flavor to this savory pancake sauce while increasing its viscosity. Date syrup - Dates are a core component of traditional okonomiyaki sauce recipes, adding sweetness and a marvelous caramel flavor. If you can’t find it, honey or maple syrup will work in a pinch. Oyster sauce - The oyster sauce has a nice balance of savory and sweet tastes that adds a ton of umami to our Okonomiyaki sauce recipe while also contributing thickness. Curry powder - In Japanese cuisine, there is a concept called kakushiaji, which literally means “hidden taste.” It refers to an ingredient added in such a small quantity that its inclusion is not immediately apparent. Curry powder serves the role here, and the blend of spices adds depth and complexity to the sauce without making it taste like curry.

How to Make Okonomiyaki Sauce

You first want to mix the curry powder with the Worcestershire sauce to moisten the powder; otherwise, you’ll end up with lumps that are hard to incorporate into the sauce. Then you can combine this with the ketchup, date syrup, and oyster sauce. This sauce can be kept for weeks in the fridge, so you can make a bigger batch. It can be used to season dishes like yakisoba or yaki udon, and it’s also a delicious condiment for fried foods such as tonkatsu.

How to Make Okonomiyaki

The first thing you want to do is shred your cabbage and chop the scallions. For the cabbage, I recommend cutting the whole leaves in half through the center of the stem and then slicing the cabbage into thin ribbons perpendicular to the direction of the stem. This ensures you get the thicker stem sliced nice and thin, so the cabbage cooks through properly. For the batter, break the eggs into a small bowl with the dashi and whisk the mixture together until it’s uniform in color. Pour the egg and dashi mixture into the flour and stir until it’s mostly combined and there are no big lumps of flour remaining. You mustn’t overwork the batter, or your Okonomiyaki will become tough and chewy. Pour the pancake batter over the cabbage, scallions, and tenkasu in a large bowl and stir the ingredients together until they’re evenly coated with the batter. It’s easier to watch how to make the pork belly weave than to read about it, so check out the video below to see how it’s done. Once you’ve got a woven mat of pork belly, dust the top surface with some flour using a tea strainer. To cook the cabbage pancake, heat a frying pan, skillet, or griddle over medium-low heat until hot. Drizzle in the oil and spread it around before adding the Okonomiyaki mixture into a pile in the center of the pan. Next, you want to shape the cabbage mixture by pressing down on the top of the pile while pressing in on the edges as they spread out. Repeat this process going around the circumference of the Okonomiyaki until you have a thick round pancake that’s an even thickness throughout. Flip the sheet of pork belly onto the top of your Okonomiyaki and center it before peeling away the paper. Tuck any loose flaps of pork under the pancake with a spatula. Reduce the heat to let the Okonomiyaki cook through slowly. This will take about seven to nine minutes, but it’s important to do it slowly, or your pancake will burn outside before the cabbage is cooked through to the center. When the Okonomiyaki is golden brown on one side and cooked a little over halfway through, you need to flip it over. There are three ways to do this. My recommended method is to use two spatulas on opposite sides of the Okonomiyaki. The second method is to flip a second pre-heated frying pan over the first one and then flip both pans over so you invert the pancake into the second pan. This is pretty dangerous, though, as the pans are hot, and hot oil can leak out between the two pans and burn your forearms. If you use this method, I highly recommend using mitts and covering your arms with towels. The final method is to use the pan and the momentum of the Okonomiyaki to flip it, this takes a lot of practice, and if you mess up, you’ll end up scraping the batter off your stove. This is how I usually do it, but if you want to practice this, I recommend doing it over a clean counter so you can recover the Okonomiyaki if you miss. Now you want to use your spatulas to press the cabbage down again to eliminate any large air pockets and ensure the pork belly is making good contact with the pan. Cook the Okonomiyaki for another six to seven minutes on the second side. If you aren’t using pork belly, you’ll need to add another tablespoon of oil around the rim of the pan after flipping the pancake. Once the pork belly has browned and crisped, use wadded-up paper towels and tongs to soak up all of the excess fat that has been rendered out of the pork belly. Depending on how fatty your pork was this could take a few sheets of paper towels to get it all, and I recommend tipping the pan to one side to get it all to pool in one place. This keeps your Okonomiyaki from getting greasy and ensures you don’t splash yourself with hot oil when you flip it over again. Flip the Okonomiyaki once more to bring the pork belly on top, and then slide the cabbage pancake onto a plate to serve. Spread the Okonomiyaki Sauce all over the top of the Japanese savory pancake and garnish with your choice of toppings.