About the Recipe
Okonomiyaki is an Osakan street food gone global. Like all the best street foods, okonomiyaki isn't a difficult art to master - once you've got the hang of the basic technique, you can experiment with ingredients - here my okonomiyaki takes on a seafood theme with prawns (my favourite) and squid.
Ingredients
140g / 5 oz sweet pointed cabbage leaves (or any soft cabbage variety )
2 spring onions
60g / 2 oz bell pepper
60g / 2 oz raw squid
100g / 3.5 oz raw or cooked prawns
1 tsp of Japanese instant dashi granules or vegetable stock powder
150ml / 5.3 oz cold water
1 medium / large eggs
140g / 5 oz plain flour
2 - 2.5 tbsp sunflower oil
for the topping:
okonomiyaki or Bull-dog sauce
mayonnaise
katsuobushi bonito flakes
aoko green seaweed powder
a 24 cm / 10 in frying pan
Preparation
using a knife, remove the stalk from the cabbage leaves
slice the leaves in approx. 1cm / 1/2 in strips, then chop. slice the tougher stalks finely. put everything in a large bowl
chop the spring onions and bell pepper and add to the bowl
chop the squid and prawns and add to the bowl
add the dashi stock granules to the water and mix
put the flour and the egg in another bowl and mix. then, add the stock and mix together well (you don't need to create a smooth batter, a few lumps are absolutely fine)
add the batter mixture to the vegetables and mix everything together well
heat 1 - 1.25 tbsp of the sunflower oil in a frying pan. when the oil is hot, add half of the okonomiyaki mixture to the pan
cook over a medium/high heat with a lid on for 4 - 5 minutes until your okonomiyaki is lightly browned. turn over and cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes with the lid on. when both sides are browned, carefully slide out onto a warmed plate
repeat for okonomiyaki #2
finally, drizzle with okonomiyaki or Bull-dog sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkle over some bonito flakes & green seaweed powder