00:00Many people think okonomiyaki is impossible to make without a special flour. Actually,
00:04that's wrong. With just flour, cabbage and a few techniques, you can master Japan's
00:09ultimate cornflake food at home in a frying pan.
00:12For a printable version of this recipe, visit my website, just google okonomiyaki space
00:16statue to find me.
00:17Let's start with our batter. In a large mixing bowl, we're sifting 100g of cake flour with
00:231⁄8 teaspoon of baking powder. Now, I'm using baking powder instead of the traditional
00:28Japanese yam because, let's be honest, it can be tricky to find outside Japan. But
00:33if you live in Japan or have access to Japanese yam paste, definitely use that instead for
00:37the authentic light and silky texture.
00:42Next we're whisking in 75g of cold dashi along with 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon
00:49of mirin, 1 teaspoon of milk, and 1 egg until just combined.
00:55Whether you're using instant dashi, dashi packets, or homemade dashi, make sure it's
01:00cold before you add it. Hot dashi is the enemy here because it'll make the gluten develop
01:05too quickly, turning your mixture gummy and heavy. Room temperature, or chilled, that's
01:10what we want.
01:12Now, here's something most people might skip. We're covering this bowl and chilling it for
01:16at least 30 minutes. An hour is even better. This resting time lets the moisture distribute
01:21evenly and give that gluten network time to chill out. You'll get a thicker, easier to shape
01:28okonomiyaki that won't spread all over your pan.
01:38While that's resting, let's make our sauce if you want to. Mix 2 tablespoons of ketchup,
01:431 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of honey, and
01:501 teaspoon of soy sauce in a small bowl. Store-bought okonomiyaki sauce works too if
01:55you already have one. Also, feel free to tweak the ratios. More honey if you like it sweeter,
02:00more soy sauce if you want it saltier.
02:03Next I've got about 150g of cabbage leaves. This is undeniably one of the most important ingredients,
02:10and how you cut it actually matters. We want it roughly yet finely chopped. I start by rolling
02:17it up, cutting it into strips, and then roughly chopping it in the other direction.
02:23Too thin and fine, and all that moisture starts leaking out, making your batter watery. We want
02:29small but rough pieces so you can actually taste the cabbage without it turning your batter
02:34too runny. And ideally, choose spring, green, or pointed
02:39cabbage varieties. Basically go for tender or the dense. Tough ones like winter cabbages
02:44take a long time to soften, and will weigh your batter down.
02:53Time to bring it all together. This recipe makes two smaller okonomiyaki, so divide your rested
02:58batter into two bowls. One goes back in the fridge while we cook the first pancake. Working
03:03quickly to keep the cabbage nice and crunchy, fold in half of your chopped cabbage, then
03:08about 1 tbsp of tenkatsu, or crushed plain potato chips if you eat in a pinch, and 1 tbsp
03:15of finely diced benishogar pickled ginger, but you can omit it if you don't have it.
03:31Then, crack in one extra egg and stir just until you stop seeing streaks. If you overstair, you're
03:38toughening the gluten and knocking out all the precious air. On the mix, on the other hand,
03:44you'll get unstable pockets that collapse fast when you flip. What we want is a light
03:4930-second fold after the egg. Now, if you're feeling fancy and don't mind the extra work,
03:55you can separate your eggs, beat those whites to soft peaks, and then fold them in. I don't
04:01usually bother, but it does give you the souffle-like texture.
04:05Heat up a well-seasoned cast iron over medium-high heat, add a thin layer of neutral oil, and use
04:12kitchen paper to spread it into a thin, even layer.
04:16Oil batter right into the centre. Use a spatula to shape it into a circle about 14-16cm wide
04:23and 2cm thick. That's your standard size right there.
04:35Pan choice actually matters here. Cast iron retains heat beautifully, searing the crust before
04:41the centre overcooks. Non-stick works too, but don't crank it too high because they don't
04:46love extreme temperatures.
04:58Now lay those thin pork belly slices right over the surface. I use about 50g for each okonomiyaki.
05:05If you can't get your hands on pork belly, streaky bacon works, but you'll want to dial
05:10back on the sauce a bit to balance out the extra saltiness. When the edges look dry and the
05:16bottom is a gorgeous deep golden colour, it's flip time.
05:24Slide a white spatula, or two smaller ones if you're not feeling confident, under the
05:29pancake and flip it in one smooth motion.
05:35I must say, I took too long to lay pork slices this time and it's slightly overdone, but it's
05:41still ok. For troubleshooting like this, check out the link to my detail
05:46blog post in the description below.
05:49Turn the heat down to medium-low, pop the lid on and let steam do its magic for 5 minutes.
05:56As that meat starts sizzling, the rendered fat is essentially shallow frying the batter, adding
06:01incredible smokiness and keeping those slices from curling up while the lid is trapped in
06:07the steam, and helping the centre cook evenly.
06:10After 5 minutes, take the lid off to re-crisp the surface and get rid of any excess moisture
06:16if there's any.
06:17Polk the centre with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, flip it one more time so the pork
06:23side is on top.
06:30Now, brush on half of that sauce, drizzle with a thin stream of mayo, then bonito flakes and
06:46alnori powder right before serving.
06:48The heat will make those bonito flakes dance like they're alive, and the alnori sea aroma
06:54will absolutely pop when you add it last.
07:05Slice it into portions, and enjoy it while it's piping hot. Just repeat the whole process
07:11with that second bowl of batter chilling in your fridge, and enjoy your first batch while
07:16it cooks.
07:17Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
07:23Ok, let's go over the ingredients one more time, and if you're ready to cook, grab the
07:27written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up
07:32on your screen.
07:39There we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen for you now, and if you want
07:43to watch more similar videos, don't miss my street food playlist popping up on your screen
07:47as well.
07:48Thanks so much for watching, and I hope to see you in the next one.
07:50Bye.
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