Okonomiyaki – Japanese pancake

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup flour, maybe more, depending on consistency
• 1 cup of water, warm
• 1 tsp baking powder
• salt and pepper
• e.g. white cabbage (some leaves)
• 300 g shrimp(s)
• 4 potatoes, boiled
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 1 onion(s)
• some oil
• some sauce (sweet BBQ sauce or tonkatsu sauce)
• some mayonnaise

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

spicy, good for using up leftovers

First, slice the cabbage leaves into strips and halve them. Cut the shrimp into small pieces, dice the cooked potatoes. Wash and slice the spring onions, and finely dice the onion. Mix the flour with the baking powder. In a bowl, combine the warm water and the flour-baking powder mixture (the mixture should be rather thick; if it isn’t, add more flour), then pour it over the other ingredients. Whisk the eggs, stir them in, and season. Now add the oil to the pan, and when it’s hot enough, pour the batter into the pan in batches (small cakes). Cover and cook for about 2 minutes, then turn them over. It’s best to pour small cakes each time, as otherwise they will fall apart when turned over. Repeat this process until all the batter is used up. Finally, pour a lattice of mayonnaise and BBQ sauce over the okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki can be used with many different ingredients, so you can easily use up leftovers. The basic ingredients are cabbage and the batter (flour, water, eggs). Everything else is up to your imagination. For example, you can also use pre-cooked Asian noodles; the more adventurous can add chips. I personally omit the mayonnaise. If you like, you can stir in a small bowl of dashi and subtract it from the water.