Okonomi Yaki

submitted by dave

Recipe courtesy About.com, http://japanesefood.about.com .
Okonomi-yaki is known as Japanese-style pancake or pizza. It includes
cabbage and lots of other
ingredients (see the list below). As the name indicates (okonomi means
favorites in Japanese),
you can add your favorite ingredients in okonomi-yaki. Seafood and meat
are usually added. In some okonomi-yaki restaurants, customers cook their
own okonomiyaki on the iron table.
Okonomi-yaki is a kind of fast food and there are lots of venders selling
okonomi-yaki in Japan.

Okonomiyaki batter

(2 servings)

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup dashi soup or water
1 egg
*grated yamaimo (Japanese yam) can be added.

Toppings:
finely chopped cabbage, thinly sliced pork, red ginger, yakisoba noodles,
tenkasu (tempura crumbs), corn, green onion, squid, shrimp, dried bonito
flakes, bean sprouts, and more.

In Japan, there are two areas where okonomi-yaki is very popular: Osaka
and Hiroshima. Okonomi-yaki is cooked differently in the two regions. In
Hiroshima-style okonomi-yaki, chopped cabbage is cooked on top of thinly
spread batter. Also, yakisoba noodles are usually added in Hiroshima-style
okonomi-yaki. In Osaka-style okonomi-yaki, chopped cabbage is mixed with
the batter and cooked together. I think it's easier to cook Osaka-style
okonomi-yaki for beginners than to cook Hiroshima-style.
But both okonomi-yaki taste really good, so try to cook both!


Hiroshima-style:

Heat a pan or an iron table. Spread batter into thin round. Place one
handful of finely chopped cabbage and other your chosen ingredients on top
of the pancake. If you are adding meat, place it on top of other
ingredients. Pour some batter over the ingredients. Fry yakisoba noodles
with okonomi-yaki sauce on the side. Flip the pancake over with spatulas.
Push the top of the okonomi-yaki firmly with a spatula and cook it in low
heat until ingredients are cooked. Replace the okonomiyaki with spatulas
on top of yakisoba noodles and push on the top firmly. Fry an egg on the
side. Replace the okonomi-yaki on top of the fried egg and push on the top
firmly. Place the okonomi-yaki in a plate with the egg side up. Sprinkle
dried bonito flakes and aonori (dried seaweed powder). Cut okonomiyaki
into bite-sized pieces and eat with sweet okonomiyaki sauce or worcester
sauce and mayonnaise.



Osaka-style

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup soup stock (dashi)
1 egg
1/4 of a small cabbage

For Toppings:
Thinly sliced pork or beef
Squid
Katsuo-bushi (dried bonito flakes)
Sakura-ebi (dried shrimps)
Beni-shoga (red ginger)
Ao-nori (green seaweed)
Okonomiyaki sauce (or tonkatsu sauce)
Mayonnaise

Cut the cabbage into very thin slices. Beat an egg in a bowl and add dashi
soup stock or water in it. Add flour in the bowl and mix well. Combine
sliced cabbage in the flour mixture. Fry meat/squid/shrimps (your choice
of toppings) in an electric cooking pan or a frying pan. Pour the flour
mixture over the toppings in the pan.(Make a couple pan cakes.) Cook a few
minutes and flip pancakes and cook for a few more minutes. Put okonomiyaki
sauce and mayonnaise on top of the pan cakes. Sprinkle katsuobushi flakes,
aonori, beni-shoga on top.

http://www.simpleinternet.com/recipes/
International Recipes OnLine
On-Line Culinary Discussion at Food.Chat:
http://www.simpleinternet.com/foodchat/

--
Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia D Hill at .
Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting.
Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/