The first time I went to Japan, I remember going to this Okonomiyaki restaurant that my guide book said was like the Japanese version of pizza. Talk about not meeting expectations.
To be honest it’s not really a pancake either.
BUT it is delicious!
And it does involve cabbage, one of my favourite vegetables. And it’s one of those brilliant, pop everything in the oven and let dinner cook itself meals.
Please don’t feel like you need to get all ‘cheffy’ and pipe the mayonnaise on top. I just wanted it to look really pretty for my photo shoot. Couldn’t help myself!
oh and… If you’re wondering about the blue colour, it’s because I made it with red cabbage in advance which turns blue when exposed to alkaline conditions. It still tastes the same – just a bit more ‘smurf-like’ on the appearance.
Okonomiyaki (Japanese Cabbage ‘Pancake’)
Ingredients
- 1/2 small or 1/4 large cabbage approx 500g/1lb
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 100 g almond meal (almond flour) (3.5oz)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds optional
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Instructions
- . Grease and line a 24cm (9in) spring form pan. Preheat your oven to 200C (400F).
- Finely slice cabbage using a sharp knife. Place cabbage in a bowl with the eggs, soy sauce and almond meal. Stir to combine then pack the cabbage mixture into your prepared tin, flattening down to make the top smooth.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until well browned on top and the egg looks set when you cut into the middle. And the cabbage is no longer hard and crunchy.
- Stand for a few minutes to cool slightly before cutting and serving with mayo on top. Either dollop the mayo on or place it in a small ziplock bag and snip off one corner to use as a piping bag to drizzle over the mayo.
WINE MATCH: Try it with a glass of cold Sake or a Japanese beer.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – no changes. I consider cabbage to be a pantry ingredient because it lasts for weeks and weeks in the fridge.
short on time – use pre-shredded cabbage.
5-ingredients / über simple – skip the sesame seeds.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with steamed or fried rice.
more substantial (low carb) – serve with roasted nuts like cashews, extra mayo or smashed avocado drizzled with a little more soy sauce.
Low FODMAP – replace almond meal with ground sunflower seeds or low FODMAP flour.
keto / ultra low carb – make this Japanese Omelette instead.
nut free – ground sunflower seeds or use flour or soft bread crumbs instead.
more Japanese – serve with 1-2 finely sliced nori sheets (seaweed used for sushi rolls). Or sprinkle over some schichimi togarashi.
more veg – add in or replace some of the cabbage with grated veg like carrots, beets, cauliflower or broccoli. A few sliced green onions (scallions) can also be nice. OR serve with steamed Asian greens on the side. Or just sprinkle over some baby spinach after its cooked.
carnivore – serve with some cooked bacon.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
cabbage – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for weeks, even months. Can be frozen but will have a wilted texture once defrosted.
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
soy sauce / almond meal / sesame seeds – keep them in the pantry.
mayonnaise – unopened in pantry or once opened will keep for months in the fridge.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the mayo separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in the oven for 10 minutes or less and finish with the mayo.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more soy sauce and more mayo will help. OR a little hot sauce.
too dry – more mayo! And next tine check earlier in the cooking process.
falling apart – sounds like your egg wasn’t completely cooked to set the ‘pancake’. Next time cook for longer. For now just change the name to Japanese Cabbage Hash.
cabbage turning blue – the colour pigment in red cabbage is pH sensitive and changes to blue / purple in alkaline conditions. Eggs make the dish alkaline so if you have leftovers don’t be freaked out if they have changed colour overnight. It’s still totally edible AND delicious. I actually made the Okonomiyaki in the photo the day before so the colour is on the blue side. Of course this doesn’t happen with white or green cabbage.
no oven – stir fry the cabbage in a wok or frying pan until soft. Then add the eggs and cook, stirring constantly until the eggs are set and no longer ‘snotty’. Remove from heat and stir in the soy sauce and almond meal (you may not want to use all the almond if it is drying out). Serve in bowls with sesame seeds and mayo drizzled over.
no 24cm (9in) spring form pan – any oven proof dish will do. Just be careful if the dimensions are much smaller, it will take longer to cook, and if the surface area is much larger, it will cook more quickly. And line with baking paper so you don’t end up with a sticking situation – nobody likes a sticking situation 🙂
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I love this and it is so much easier than the Japanese recipes. I originally always made it as per recipe and really enjoyed for brunch. I then started to add some diced bacon and spring onions when I had them. I also made some Okonomiyaki sauce from worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, Tamari and oyster sauce. Also use the mayo and sprinkle with crushed seaweed and sesame seeds. It doesn’t take much longer but its nice either way
ooh I love the sound of your Okonomiyalki sauce Rachel 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight, and we enjoyed it. My husband even said it was good (he rarely says anything that positive). I should tell you that he drowned his portion in mayonnaise. I wouldn’t make this often, but it’s a nice change from the other things I usually make.
I’m with your husband on the mayo Susan 🙂
This sounds amazing. I’m not usually a big fan of Japanese food, although I do remember really enjoying a bowl of noodle soup with a huge tempura prawn on top in Kyoto. This recipe has a seemingly good flavor combo. It’s going in my recipe file and I will add it to my menu plan for my next time cooking.
Oh yay Susan – it’s one of my faves but I suspect it’s a bit ‘out there’ for most people 🙂
Jules, I grew up on Hungarian food rather than standard American, plus I’ve traveled the world and tried a lot of things, so I’ve gained an appreciation for all sorts of cuisines and flavors. I think that developed my ability to imagine flavor combinations. I can read a list of ingredients and have an idea of how they would taste together. I’ll let you know how we like it.
Ive been thinking of doing a simplified goulash recipe – any thoughts on the absolutely must have ingredients?
Sautéed onion, browned stew beef, tomato sauce (passata would work) sweet Hungarian paprika (lots of it) water to cover, and 45 minutes before it’s done add cubed potatoes. The type of paprika is crucial to having it come out right. That is the version I grew up on. No veggies, other than the onion which disappears in the cooking, and no other seasoning. Apparently that is a peasant version of the stew. You can do something similar with chicken, but omit the potatoes and stir in sour cream at the end. The chicken paprika’s also has dumpling egg noodles, but it would be fine without.
Correction from autocorrect: it should be chicken paprikash.
One more comment: this is supposed to be a stew, so at least for me, ground beef would not work well.
You read my mind Susan – I was just thinking about doing it with ground beef 🙂
You gave me a good laugh with that. I know how you roll, so I was pretty sure you would try it with ground beef. The one point for using ground meat is that is cooks much more quickly. But I don’t know if the flavor will develop well. The stuff I make takes about 3 hours to cook. The chicken (or veal) paprikash would cook much quicker.
ooh thanks Susan – will have to get some Hungarian paprika and try it – I usually buy Spanish.
There is a huge difference in flavor. The Hungarian variety is what gives any of the many paprikash dishes their unique flavor.
I also made this with red cabbage, as the supermarket didn’t have any other variety in pieces as small as 500g. I also grated a carrot into the mixture, so added an extra egg and 25g of almond meal, as well as two cloves of garlic. In place of soy sauce I used miso paste, as I have an open packet in the fridge that I haven’t had much call to use. I also have a packet of sesame seeds that are past their use-by date but don’t taste bad yet, so I drenched the top with them.
The result was thus quite tasty, but felt curiously insubstantial. I had it with plenty of mayo, cashews and spinach, so wasn’t left hungry, but the actual dish wasn’t doing the heavy lifting that it might have. Maybe adding a chopped sweet potato would help.
Interesting that it felt insubstantial even with the extra egg. Did you use an extra 25g almond meal? Or was it 25g total.
If you wanted to try again using more egg (6 in total) and increasing the almond meal to 150g will make it more filling.
And if you want more ideas to use miso paste I made a big batch of this ginger miso mustard (without the ginger) this week and have been enjoying it on everything. Or there’s always miso mayo
125g almond meal total. I’m not sure why, but I don’t find egg on its own all that satiating. Maybe half the amount of cabbage, and 300g mushroom, would work better for me.
BTW, I didn’t get a notification about your comment. I get some notifications, but not all that I should. Thanks.
That’s interesting about the egg Mark – maybe you need to add in a different type of protein like some lentils or chickpea or even chicken.
And thanks for letting me know about the comment notifications – will get my tech guy to take a look.
I always wanted a healthy version of this ,and finally made it as I had cabbage in the fridge, my husband loved it . I enjoyed it without feeling guilty of yhe calories and it is gluten free , win win
thank you Jules
So glad you both enjoyed Patricia! It can be a little ‘out there’ for some people so good to know I’m not the only one who enjoys!
Fantastic recipe for one of my all-time favorite foods! I like to preheat a cast iron skillet in the oven & lay bacon slices down before pouring in the batter to bake. Like a lovely bacon-upside down-savory-pancake 🙂
ooh love your bacon addition Kathryn!
Thanks for sharing 🙂