Okonomiyaki

The first picture is the one I created but since it looks like a hot mess I added a screenshot of the cooking with dog okonomiyaki that I copied so you can get a better sense of what it looks like.  Basically, this is a layered japanese pancake containing an egg layer, noodle layer, pancake layer, meat layer, and cabbage layer.  It is topped with a sweet sauce and other fixings.  I put off making this for a long time, as it just didn't really appeal to me, but after making it, like seemingly all japanese food I make, it was surprisingly delicious, tasting both familiar but unique at the same time.  Actually, delicious doesn't do it justice.  This is in my top 5 comfort foods I've ever eaten.  It is that good.


Watch the Hiroshima Okonomiyaki video from the cooking with dog youtube channel to get a good sense of how to make this.  The only real adjustments I made to the recipe was making my own sauce and simplifying the assembling of the okonomiyaki to prevent it from breaking apart.

I used noodles made from scratch for this recipe but it is stated that you can use really any type of pre-made noodle for this, ranging from udon to spaghetti.  I can't speak for the other noodles types, however, and would probably only ever make this with homemade noodles.


ingredients:
enough for 2 people
1.  1/2 cup ap flour
2.  water
3.  1 cup cabbage (1/4 of a whole cabbage)
4.  1/2 cup bean sprouts (very thinly sliced bell pepper can be used instead)
5.  2 eggs (1 for noodle, 1 for okonomiyaki)
6.  3/4 cup fresh noodles or pre-made noodles (don't use too much noodles in this dish.  I am always tempted to use more than I think and it always ends up being too much.  3/4 cup is a good amount)
note: - refer to my previous fresh noodle entry to make fresh noodles.
8.  dashi powder
9.  3/4 cup pork belly or any type of meat that can be cooked super quick
10.  aonori seawed
11.  green onions
12.  bonito flakes
13.  mayonaise
14.  beni shoja (pickled ginger, not sushi)
15.  1/4 cup fried batter (this can actually be bought from japanese groceries or websites but you can make your own by simply making a basic batter of flour, water, and salt and dropping it into hot oil and frying it until crispy)

sauce:
16.  2 TBL ketchup
17.  1 TBL soy sauce
18.  1 TBL worcestershire
19.  2 tsp honey

20.  2 large non-stick pans.
21.  2 wide spatulas


recipe:
1.  Boil lightly salted water.  If using fresh noodles, cook the noodles until 2 min before al dente.  If using dried pasta, cook the noodles until 1 min before al dente.  It will finish cooking later.  Drain noodles well and toss with 1/4 tsp of oil and set aside.
2.  Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.  Taste.  You want it to have an obvious sweetness and be a sweet sauce, but in no way be too sweet.  I don't like a pronounced worcestershire flavor, sourness, or spiciness to this.  The worcestershire should be very subtle and mild.  I ended up adding a few more drops of soy sauce and honey to adjust it to where I wanted it.
3.  Add about 1/2 cup of ap flour to a bowl and a pinch of salt.  Add water, a tsp or 2 at a time, then mix with a fork.  Keep adding water and mixing until the batter has a consistency somewhere between pancake batter and crepe batter.  In other words, not too thick but not too loose.
4.  Prepare the rest of the ingredients:  1. Cut 1 cup of cabbage into 1/4" thick strips.  2. If using bell pepper instead of bean sprouts, slice 1/2 cup into 1/8" thick and 2" length strips.  3. If using sliced pork belly, use about 4 slices.  If using a different meat, slice 3/4 cup into 1/4" thick and 1" length strips, against the grain if applicable.  4.  Mince 2 TBL of green onions.  5.  If you have a clean squirt bottle, add mayonnaise to it to squeeze out later.  If not, you can just spoon mayonnaise on top.
5.  Heat up 2 pans over medium heat.  In the first pan add a few drops of oil and then, IN THIS ORDER, put down the thinly sliced bell pepper(or bean sprout), cabbage, then thinly sliced beef.  Evenly pour about 1-2 TBL of batter throughout the mixture.  Add a pinch of dashi powder and a pinch of salt pepper. Cook on medium high heat for 2 minutes, then cover and let steam for a few minutes.  Uncover and check doneness of the meat.  If it is cooked through, continue on with the next step.  If not, cover and steam for another few minutes until meat is cooked.  After meat is cooked, squeeze mixture into a tight circle, then set over low heat uncovered.
6.  Add a few drops of oil into second pan over medium high heat.  Ladle down about an 8" circle of batter.  Add a pinch of dashi powder to it.  After 2 min, gently lift a corner of the pancake and peak under to check for crispness and browning.  Don't proceed until it has browned well.
note: - If you attempt to move the pancake before it has browned, it could easily tear because it is too wet and soft.  Make sure to be patient and cook until it gets browned and slightly crisp.
7.  After bottom of pancake has browned, lift the cooked pancake with spatula and flip over (so brown side is facing up) and place on top of the meat, cabbage, bell pepper mixture.
8.  In now empty second pan, add 3/4 cup of noodles.  Add around 2 tsp of sauce, mix, and allow noodles to heat up for 1 min.  Mix again then heat up for 2 more min.  You want the noodles to be nice and hot, as it will have cooled down when it rested.  Transfer noodles to clean plate.
9.  Clean the second pan and add a drop of oil.  Crack an egg into it then immediately break the yolk with a fork and swirl the egg around to form it into a rough circle.  Add a pinch of dashi powder, salt, and pepper.  Cook until just set.
10.  Add noodles on top of egg and squeeze into tight circle.
11. Carefully, with 2 spatulas (1 on each side), lift the cabbage mixture with pancake on top, and place it on top of the noodles/egg.  The entire okonomiyaki is now assembled.
12.  Now, carefully slide 2 spatulas (1 on each side) under it and quickly but carefully flip the entire thing over so the egg is now facing up and the pancake is on the bottom.
13.  Slide 2 spatulas under the whole thing and transfer it onto a serving plate.
14.  Spoon a generous amount of the sauce on top (don't be shy with it) and spread evenly.  Squeeze parallel lines of mayo all over the entire top (don't be shy with the mayonnaise either).  If you don't have a squirt bottle, just use 2 spoons and dollop the entire top with small dots of mayonnaise.
15.  On top sprinkle fried batter, aonoyi seaweed, bonito flakes, a genrous amount of minced chives, then dot the entire top with beni shoga ginger (not sushi ginger).
16.  Serve it by cutting it into wedges (like a pie) and serving onto individual plates.