Bearing more similarities to rösti or bubble and squeak than pizza, as it is often compared, okonomiyaki is to my mind one of the best ways to eat cabbage and a great example of wartime necessity creating fantastic food. During World War II, when rice supplies were at their lowest, inexpensive wheat flour was made into a thick batter, mixed with shredded cabbage and fried as filling, savoury pancakes. Seventy years and numerous adaptations to the original recipe later and we now have one of Japan’s most popular dishes. Nagaimo (a type of yam from a climbing vine) is often added to the batter nowadays to enhance the consistency with its unique sticky, foamy texture. If you can’t find nagaimo in an oriental supermarket, beating some air into the two egg whites in the recipe will help to make the okonomiyaki fluffier and closer to the real thing.
The word okonomi translates as ‘what you like’ and yaki to ‘grilled’, and as the name suggests, you can add whatever toppings you like to this dish, our favourite combination being prawns and smoked bacon. Whatever extra ingredients you choose, just make sure to top the pancake with aonori seaweed, dried bonito flakes, Japanese mayonnaise and the punchy, fruity brown sauce known as sōsu or okonomi sauce.
kakuni 