Okonomiyaki is one of our favorite quick and easy dishes to prepare! It’s a delicious and hearty dish that we could eat several times a month. It also holds and transports really well, so leftovers make a really great lunch on the go too!
If you’ve never made Okonomiyaki before, you NEED to try making it at home! It’s seriously so easy to make, slightly reminiscent of a frittata and Spanish tortilla and incredibly tasty!
What is Okonomiyaki?
Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake using a wheat-based batter with eggs. The mix-ins and toppings vary depending on the region of Japan.
How to Make Our Okonomiyaki Recipe
Ingredients
Process
- Combine the cabbage, carrot, and green onions in a large bowl.
- Toss together.
- In another bowl combine the flour, eggs, dashi, salt, and pepper.
- Whisk together.
- Pour the egg mixture over cabbage mixture.
- Stir together until vegetables are completely and evenly coated.
- Add shrimp to batter.
- Fold together.
- Heat the oil nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Swirling pan so entire surface is covered in oil.
- When the oil is hot, pour the entire mixture into pan and cook until pancake is mostly set.
- Carefully flip the pancake and cook until golden brown and fully set.
- Transfer the pancake to a large plate and cool for a few minutes. Finish pancake with a drizzle of okonomiyaki sauce and kewpie or mayonnaise and a sprinkle of furikake and bonito flakes, if using. Cut into wedges and serve.
Variations
- Substitute the napa cabbage for savoy cabbage for a more tender filling, or replace it with green cabbage for a heartier bite and crunch.
- Other proteins that work well in Okonomiyaki are: sliced pork belly, oysters, chopped chicken thighs, and sliced squid.
- This dish is also delicious loaded with vegetables. Some other vegetables we like to add are: grated yams (which is traditional), grated zucchini, and some sliced and sautéed mushrooms.
- For an extra crispy exterior, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to the batter.
Tips for Okonomiyaki Success
- Make sure that oil is swirled around the bottom and sides of the pan. It’ll really help prevent the okonomiyaki from sticking when flipping and removing from the pan.
- Once the batter is poured into the pan, try not to touch the dish at all until it’s almost set and ready to flip. This will help the entire dish to hold together in a nice, thick disk.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Okonomiyaki can be made ahead of time as well as frozen, although freshly made is truly the best. The texture of the vegetables and the wheat/egg batter will be a little softer, but otherwise it will still be delicious. Remember to add the sauce and toppings on only once reheated and ready to serve.
Make Ahead
Our recipe can be made 1 to 3 days in advance (depending on the protein used: 1 to 2 days for seafood and 2 to 3 days for pork, chicken and beef).
Once the Okonomiyaki is made, cool completely. Once cool, tightly wrap in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight container until ready to eat. To reheat, preheat oven to 350˚F. Unwrap and place onto a baking sheet then bake for about 10 minutes or until heated through. Top with toppings, cut into wedges and serve.
Freezing
Our recipe can be frozen for up to 1 month. To freeze, cut Okonomiyaki into wedges. Tightly wrap each wedge in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer safe ziploc bag, removing as much air as possible before sealing. To reheat, preheat oven to 375˚F. Unwrap wedges and place onto a baking sheet (frozen). Bake wedges for 12 to 16 minutes or until heated through. Top with toppings and serve.
More Quick and Easy Recipes You Will Love
Okonomiyaki
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced savoy or napa cabbage
- 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup dashi or water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped (about 3/4 lb.)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
garnishes
- 1/4 cup Okonomiyaki sauce
- 3 tablespoons Kewpie (or mayonnaise)
- 2 tablespoons Furikake seasoning
- 2 teaspoons bonito flakes optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine the cabbage, carrot, and green onions in a large bowl and toss together.
- In another bowl whisk together the flour, eggs, dashi, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the egg mixture over cabbage mixture and stir together until vegetables are completely and evenly coated.
- Fold shrimp into batter.
- Heat the oil in a 10-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Swirling pan so entire surface is covered in oil.
- When the oil is hot, pour the entire mixture into pan and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until the pancake is mostly set.
- Carefully flip the pancake and cook for 4 to 6 minutes longer, until golden brown and fully set.
- Transfer the pancake to a large plate and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Finish pancake with a drizzle of okonomiyaki sauce and kewpie or mayonnaise and a sprinkle of furikake and bonito flakes, if using.
- Cut into wedges and serve.
NOTES
- Substitute the napa cabbage for savoy cabbage for a more tender filling, or replace it with green cabbage for a heartier bite and crunch.
- Other proteins that work well in Okonomiyaki are: sliced pork belly, oysters, chopped chicken thighs, and sliced squid.
- This dish is also delicious loaded with vegetables. Some other vegetables we like to add are: grated yams (which is traditional), grated zucchini, and some sliced and sautéed mushrooms.
- Make sure that oil is swirled around the bottom and sides of the pan. It’ll really help prevent the okonomiyaki from sticking when flipping and removing from the pan.
- Once the batter is poured into the pan, try not to touch the dish at all until it’s almost set and ready to flip. This will help the entire dish to hold together in a nice, thick disk.
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Where are the ingredients for the okonomiyaki sauce?
Wow, so simple and so easy! I used sourdough discard instead of flour and water, purple cabbage, and chicken bouillon bc I didn’t have dashi on hand. Added a touch of water to thin it out (since I used discard) and made a quick Okonomiyaki sauce. My family is raving about this. Definitely a keeper recipe!
Made this last night with savoy cabbage. Quick, delicious, easy ingredients. Loved the addition of the shrimp and marinated it briefly in some sake before chopping.
Should I use green/raw shrimp?
Yes, the shrimp should be raw when stirred into the batter
Egg Foo Yong or
Egg Foo Young or
Egg Foo Yung
Chinese version
Okonomiyaki Sauce is similar to Worcestershire Sauce. There are many recipes online to make it from scratch and appears to be sold in the Asian markets in the bottled sauce areas. Good luck there are many versions of this Japanese style pancake worth seeking out. Kind of reminds me of Egg Fu Yon (think I spelled that wrong)..
where `s the okonomiyaki sauce recipe and furikake?
Furikake is a Japanese Seasoning for rice. There are many kinds including a brand that makes a NO MSG product. This is a common product sold in Asian markets. Limited selections appear in large chain markets, in the Asian section less frequently. As for the sauce I would recommend searching the internet…
i’m only familiar with pork/bacon oknomiyaki, but shrimp sounds amazing!! i know that serious eats thinks that bacon helps make flipping it easier, but the potentially harder to deal with pancake sounds worth the extra deliciousness that comes with shrimp.