Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto) · 40 min · Meat · Main course · For confident cooks
Okonomiyaki with Camembert
Original name: Okonomiyaki · In English: Camembert Okonomiyaki
For 2 servings · US units
Japanese cabbage pancake with pork belly and a whole camembert melting inside
Okonomiyaki is a savoury cabbage pancake from the Kansai region, fried with thin slices of pork belly and finished with sweet sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and seaweed. In this version a whole camembert sits in the middle and melts inside the pancake as it cooks. Served as a main course with a bowl of rice — traditionally you eat it straight off the hot griddle with a Japanese spatula.
Ingredients
- 8¾ ozcabbagevery finely shredded or coarsely chopped
- 3½ ozWheat flourfor the batter
- 2Eggfor the batter
- ⅔ cupwaterto mix the batter, fish stock as an alternative
- 1 tspdissolved in the batterInstant stock made from dried bonito flakes, usually with kombu, salt and flavour enhancers, sold as granules or powder; dissolved in hot water it becomes Japan's basic stock.Substitute: The best replacement is homemade dashi from kombu and bonito flakes, which tastes more delicate and less salty, so you will need to season more. Kombu alone, or kombu with dried shiitake, makes a fish-free stock but lacks the smoky note. Supermarket chicken or vegetable stock is not a real substitute: the dish stays edible but no longer tastes Japanese.Read more
- 3½ ozPorklaid out side by side on or under the batter; bacon works too
- 1camembertplaced whole in the centre, melts inside the pancake (optional)
- 3½ ozfinely grated, makes the batter fluffy (optional)Caution: The skin and freshly cut flesh can make your hands itch, so it is best to wear gloves when peeling and grating.A long, pale brown tuber with white, juicy flesh that is crisp when raw and turns into a thick, slippery paste when grated.Substitute: For raw, grated dishes such as tororo there is no substitute, because no other widely available ingredient has this slippery, stringy consistency. In batters such as okonomiyaki you can leave it out and use an extra egg or a little baking powder instead, though the result will be denser and less fluffy. Raw in sticks, jicama or kohlrabi come close in crunch, and cooked, a waxy potato works, in each case without the characteristic sliminess.Read more
- 1 tbspoilfor frying, sesame oil optional
- for brushing on top; tonkatsu or Japanese worcestershire sauce as substituteA thick, dark brown Japanese condiment, sweet, fruity and savoury, brushed over okonomiyaki.Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce is the closest match and only slightly less sweet. As a stopgap, mix ketchup with Worcestershire sauce, a little soy sauce and sugar or honey; this hits the sweet-savoury direction but tastes more of tomato and less rounded than the real thing.Read more
- mayonnaiseJapanese style, piped on in stripes
- for sprinkling on topDried, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna shaved into paper-thin flakes, with a smoky, deep, fishy savouriness.Substitute: There is no equivalent substitute, because the smoky fish flavour is unique. For dashi, a plain kombu stock with dried shiitake gives savouriness and is vegetarian, but it tastes milder and earthier and lacks the smoke. Instant dashi granules usually contain bonito themselves and come close, though they are saltier and flatter. As a topping, crumbled nori can stand in, tasting of the sea rather than smoke and without the dancing effect.Read more
- for sprinkling on top (aonori)Roasted seaweed pressed into thin, paper-like sheets, savoury and lightly briny.Substitute: For rolling or wrapping there is no workable substitute, since nothing else has the same form and strength. As a crumbled seasoning, aonori or furikake will do, carrying the taste of the sea but not the roasted note or the texture of the sheets.Read more
- ⅔ ozmixed into the batter or served alongsideWafer-thin young ginger pickled in sweet rice vinegar, mildly hot and crisp.Substitute: It is easy to make at home: shave young ginger very thinly, blanch briefly and steep for a few hours in rice vinegar with sugar and salt. Raw fresh ginger is no substitute, as it is far hotter and lacks the sweet-sour note.Read more
- 2spring onionfinely sliced, into the batter or on top (optional)
- saltfor the batter
Method
- Prep the vegetables and porkCut the core out of the white cabbage and shred it very finely or chop it coarsely. Cut the pork belly into wide pieces, slice the spring onions into fine rings and have the pickled red ginger ready.
- Mix the basic batterWhisk the eggs with the water or fish stock, dissolve the instant dashi powder in it, then stir in the flour and salt until the batter is smooth.
- Add the grated yamStir in the finely grated chinese yam — it makes the batter light and fluffy.
- Fold in the cabbageFold the cabbage into the batter along with the red ginger and spring onions, until everything is evenly coated.
- Pork and cheese into the panHeat the oil in a pan and lay the pork belly slices out side by side. Set the camembert whole in the centre.
- Spread the batter on topSpread the batter over the top as a round pancake about 2 to 3 cm thick, covering the meat and the cheese.
- Fry and flip until cookedFry covered over low to medium heat until the underside is well browned. Turn it out onto a plate or use a second pan to flip it, then keep frying until cooked through.
- Add sauce and mayonnaiseSlide the okonomiyaki onto a plate, brush it with okonomiyaki sauce and pipe the mayonnaise over it in a criss-cross pattern.
- Garnish and serveScatter with nori seaweed flakes and bonito flakes and serve straight away, with a bowl of rice alongside.
Tips and variations
Crushed mung bean sprouts can take the place of the cabbage as the main bulk, and carrot can go into the batter as well; for an especially airy batter, purée silken tofu with egg and dashi. Prawns or diced fish work instead of pork belly, and the same amount of batter can be fried as several small pancakes kept warm in the oven. You can mix the sauce yourself from ketchup, worcestershire sauce and soy sauce — brushed on several times it caramelises in the pan. Fried onions make a good topping, and if you cook it on a hot griddle, eat it straight off the griddle with a Japanese spatula.
Allergens
Contains: Eggs, Fish, Cereals containing gluten
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Milk (including lactose)
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
