Okonomiyaki: Not Your Mom’s Pancake
By Patrick Chang 
August 9, 2010 
51 Comments
As a restaurant as inspiring as Matsuri in philanthropic causes and food. They’ve inspired me to try to cook some more non-sushi Japanese cuisines. Japanese food in the past decade has become a regular staple in American cuisine, but it has been limited to mainly sushi. I am a big fan of the underdog and one of my favorite Japanese dishes that isn’t sushi is the okonomiyaki. I love the ring to it. Okonomiyaki is probably best described as a Japanese pancake but don’t let it deceive you. It’s definitely not sweet and it’s not just batter! I guess you can call it a cabbage pancake. Wait, but then there are all kinds of other stuff in it! Okay, I give up but the name is derived from the word ãŠå¥½ã¿ okonomi, which means “what you like/want” and 焼 yaki which means “grilled” or “cooked”.
There are several different variations of the okonomiyaki but I’ll show you how to make my favorite, the Kansai version, originating from Osaka.
Ingredients
- Green Cabbage 3.5oz (100g)
- Scallions/Green Onions 0.5oz (14g) (We used extra scallions in ours because I personally like green onions and I had some extra)
- Julienned Carrots 1.0oz (28g)
- Eggs
- Meat: Shrimp or Beef (you can use bacon, pork, or other seafood)
- Aonori (Green Seaweed)
- Katsuobushi (Dry Bonito Flakes)
- Okonomiyaki Flour (one bag makes approximately 8-10 pieces)
- Okonomi Sauce
- Kewpie Mayonnaise
If you have any trouble buying the last 5 items, any Japanese grocery store or market will have them!
- Shred the vegetables. Shred soft leafs of cabbage head into thin strips (I like to save time and just dice them up into thin shreds similar to cole slaw). Repeat with carrots and scallions.
- Create the batter. Add 2/3 cup water and 3/4 cup of okonomiyaki flour into a bowl and mix until everything is dissolved without chunks. Then add in the eggs and mix again.
- Mix in all the vegetables in the batter mixture.
- To cook the okonomiyaki, spread the batter evenly into a 6 inch circle.
- For the Shrimp: dice the shrimp into bite size pieces and toss in with the mixture.
- For the Beef (or Pork): lay thin slices of beef on top of the 6 inch circles.
- Cook each side for 5 minutes, maybe longer to get a nice golden brown color.
- Flip and repeat for another 5 minutes or till its golden brown.
- Serve the okonomiyaki with a drizzle of okonomi sauce, mayonnaise (my preference is a 2:1 ratio) Add aonori sprinkles and katsuobushi.
Photos by Patrick Chang for Appetite for Good.
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Cabbage, scallion, carrots, eggs, and shrimp. Really can’t go wrong with that!
yum yum yum great way to force a kid to eat his veggies. hide it in a “pancake”
Gotta love that Japanese food!
) I def like Okonomiyaki more than sushi!!
haha i dunno about that !! sushi’s delicccccccccious tho! but okonomiyaki is good too
This looks great…mmmmm.
thanks! it tasted great too!
Wow, these look fresh and yummy. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I hope you try it out
DE-LISH!
mmm hmm super yummy! very refreshing too!
looks delicious colourful
thanks!
Wow, that looks really good. Not quite a pancake in the traditional sense, but packed with so many delicious flavors! I’d love to try it.
haha nope not at all many ppl call it a japanese pancake but im not exactly sure why. either way tho whatever you want to call it its DELICIOUS
This looks great and well-balanced, too. I could enjoy this any time of the day.
yup ive eaten it for breakfast lunch and dinner before! its easy to make mass quantities and save them for future meals!
Oooh this looks really cool! Both healthy and delicious, which is always a good thing in my book!
haha i couldnt agree more. in japan they usually use a little more oil on the griddle but i used almost no oil and a non stick pan and it worked out perfectly. super healthy and delicious!
What an awesome website you have, Patrick! And we all know I love me a good pancake. I’m totally trying this one out soon
Thank you very much
I love scallion pancakes too 
Congrats again on everything!
Wow! Looks great. It’s making me hungry!
thanks! its delicious make some to eat now
haha
Yum!
Nice to meet another running foodie!
Looks delicious – great photography! If you are interested in more recipes and information about okonomiyaki, check out http://okonomiyakiworld.com – Have fun cooking!
THANKS! that site was incredibly helpful! i highly recommend it to everyone who wants to learn more about okonomiyaki. Its seriously an amazing website for everything you need to learn about Okonomiyaki!
These look incredible! What a great combination of flavors!
Thanks! The great thing about this is the flavors go well together but also dont over power each other. its simple and subtle but hearty and delicious!
This is very interesting! I have seen many sorts of pancakes in my life but a cabbage one not yet. Great combination!
haha its really different right
its certainly not sweet tho! try it out and let me know what you think!
I had this dish in both Taiwan and Japan. It’s really really tasty! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Love your blog.
haha IT SURE IS! I’ve never had it in Taiwan tho. Is it taiwanese influenced? or is it still authentic japanese? What type is your favorite in Japan? I know many people like the hiroshima style okonomiyakis but my personal favorite is this one, the osaka style!
I was in Japan for almost 2 weeks a couple of summers ago.. how did I miss this!? good thing my lil brother is going back to live there.. I’ll totally be on the lookout after I try it myself first!
ooo that sounds like a lot of fun. Where were you in Japan? Were you osaka? or hiroshima? hiroshima has this other version which has noodles and a whole egg. its pretty yummy too!
Dear Friend!
Greetings from Shizuoka, Japan!
Just call it its original name, Okonomiyaki!
As Patrick says, bear in mind there are two stylea in Japan, Osaka and Hiroshima-style!
Experiment with other ingredients such as oysters!
Very well-conceived article. The Japanese will thank you for spreading their gastronomy!
Best regards,
Robert-Gilles
Thanks! always a pleasure to have you read our articles!I love Japanese cuisine! First oyakodon and now okonomiyaki!
Congrats on making the Top 9 on Foodbuzz! These look delicious! Whenever we go out to a Japanese restaurant, we always get the seafood pancakes. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks! Its so simple and easy! I love it! and healthy too!
This looks wonderful. Don’t know what it really is, but to me it’s a new form of comfort food. An entire meal in a beautiful round disk. Thanks for showing us how to do it.
Thanks! it is a japanese comfort dish!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki
http://www.japan-guide.com/r/e100.html
try these two links to learn more! Its delicious!
where exactly do the eggs come in?
Great catch! Mix in the egg with the batter. Some people also crack open a fresh egg on top too. there are various ways of creating it.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Since coming back form Japan 3 months ago I have been craving this! I am still looking for a Boston restaurant that serves it but no luck so far. if all else fails, at least I know how to make it myself!
So glad you enjoyed! Its tough to find a good one too even if you find it. There are a few places in NYC that sell it but only a handful that do it well! the best is this tiny hole in the wall. its AWESOME tho.
try mixing it up with other ingredients like octopus, bacon, oysters, etc a million different combination.
I can’t wait to try this out! I’ve had it before, but never thought to make it myself… Thanks!!
aww thanks carmel! Hope things are going well with studying
Good luck!
I recommend using octopus in the okonomiyaki! Octopus is so sweet and I like the texture a lot in okonomiyaki.
yay thanks for the suggestion sayuri! I definitely would love to try your dad’s authentic version
Wow, that looks fabulous. I am excited to expand my food horizons with this one! Thanks for the post
thanks! there are a few more other items that you wont typically find check out our oyakodon and chicken fried steak
!
Love Matsuri! It’s my go-to Japanese restaurant when I’m in town.