Easy Japanese Okonomiyaki Recipe

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake that is one of the quintessential comfort foods of Japanese cuisines. You can find them throughout Japan, but they are claimed to be the regional cuisine in the Kansai / Osaka region and in Hiroshima. The main difference is that the Hiroshima-style will have noodles as an optional ingredient to be grilled into them. It definitely is one of the foods you must try when you are in Japan but they are also easy to make at home.

Okonomiyaki literally means “what you like, grilled” and if you go to an okonomiyaki specialty restaurant, you will choose between seafood (usually squid or octopus) and meat (usually pork) then add other ingredients and toppings to make them exactly the way you like. And traditionally, they are grilled right in front of you on a large griddle. Okonomiyaki are also sold at food stands but often those aren’t made to order. You get exactly what they make, which is usually with pork.

Japanese Okonomiyaki on the griddle — Okonomiyaki being grilled at our table at an okonomiyaki restaurant in Kyoto, Japan.

These pancakes might look simple, and they are very simple to make. But if you don’t make them with the right ingredients, they end up being pretty bland. Trust me. I made them earlier on because I craved for some, thinking that they should be super easy to make with just flour, water, eggs and cabbage. But those totally lacked the depth of flavor, or “umami,” that these pancakes should have.

Two secret ingredients for the best flavor

There are two ingredients that you must have to make the most delicious okonomiyaki: Dashi and Tenkasu.

Dashi should be added to the flour to make the batter.
Tenkasu essentially is the crumbs that are made as result of making tempura. You can buy tenkasu, you can make tempura and make some tenkasu OR, do what my mom did as an ingenious alternative ingredient since tempura and tenkasu were not something that was easy to obtain back in the 80s in Pittsburgh: Fried French Onion which is what my recipe uses.

Now, to make it even easier (and taste just as good) without these secret ingredients, you can just use the pre-mixed okonomiyaki flour mix which probably has all the trade secret ingredients in them!

Otafuku Okonomiyaki Flour for Japanese Okonomiyaki Pancakes, 12 Servings, 15.9 Oz (1 Lb)

HAKUBAKU Okonomiyaki Flour Mix 14.1 oz (Japanese Style Savory Pancake)

Otafuku Okonomiyaki Kit- Includes Okonomiyaki Flour and Okonomiyaki Sauce for Japanese Savory Okonomiyaki Pancakes (1 Kit)

The topping options

Once the pancakes are done, you add your favorite toppings to create the flavor you love. The one must-have topping is the okonomiyaki or Tonkatsu sauce, although Japanese mayonnaise has also become one of the essential toppings for okonomiyaki.

Here are all the traditional topping options to choose from to customize your okonomiyaki just the way you like it:

Okonomiyaki Sauce or Tonkatsu Sauce – I personally use tonkatsu sauce since you can use it for other dishes
Japanese Mayonnaise
Aonori (dried green seaweed flakes)
Reg ginger (beni-shōga)
Green onions
Roasted sesame seeds
Fried eggs
Bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
Nori (seaweed)

Otafuku Okonomi Sauce, Vegan Japanese Topping for Okonomiyaki Pancakes (17.6 Ounces)

Takaokaya Nori Aonori-Ko Seaweed Flakes 20G (1.18 ounce)

shirakiku kizami shoga (pickled ginger) – 12oz

Meat substitutions

Instead of the bacon that I use for my recipe, you can make this using one or a combination of the following:

pork, thinly sliced
beef, thinly sliced
sausages, thinly sliced
shrimp
dried shrimp
calamari
and/or without any protein to make it completely vegetarian
add yakisoba noodles to make it a Hiroshima-style

As in the name, grill it the way you want!

How to pronounce Okonomiyaki?

This six syllable word can be very tricky to say until you get a hang of it. So, here is Rocket to show you how!

Related article: Can’t get enough of the Okonomiyaki flavor? Check out our Okonomiyaki coleslaw recipe!

Japanese Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake that is one of the foods you must try when you are in Japan but they are also relatively easy to make at home.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Course Main Course, Snack

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 teaspoon dashi power
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tbsp potato starch or corn starch
3 cups cabbage, finely chopped
4 tbsp green onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp French fried onion or tenkasu if you have it
6-8 strips bacon
vegetable oil
roasted sesame seeds optional

Toppings

tonkatsu sauce
Japanese mayonaise
red ginger (beni-shoga) optional
aonori optional

Instructions

Add dashi powder in the warm water and mix until mostly dissolved. In a large bowl, put flour, baking powder and potato/corn starch and pour dashi mix to make batter. Rest the batter for up to an hour in the refrigerator.
Mix ingredients for one serving/one sheet of okonomiyaki at a time: Take about 1/2 cup of the batter into another bowl. Then mix about 3/4 cup of chopped cabbage, 1 tablespoon of green onions, and a tablespoon of French onion. Add an egg in the batter and stir.
To make the batter for all 4 servings at once: Mix cabbage, green onions, French fried onion and eggs into the batter and stir. Then divide the batter into 4 servings. NOTE that mixing batter for one serving at a time is recommended so that each serving gets the equal amount of all the ingredients.
Lightly oil and heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Pour cabbage batter mix in the pan into a round shape. Cook for about 5-6 minutes.
Before flipping the okonomiyaki, add 1-2 slices of bacon and sprinkle roasted sesame. Flip the okonomiyaki and cook for about 5 minutes. (You can also add another egg on top before flipping if you want a fried egg on your okonomiyaki!)
Remove okonomiyaki from griddle/skillet. Spread sauce and mayonnaise on top. Sprinkle aonori over sauce and mayo, add red ginger on top or on the side and serve while hot. Or you can serve the okonomiyaki without any toppings so that each person can add any of the toppings as they prefer!

Keyword authentic, comfort food, easy, pancake

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2 COMMENTS

Beth | 12th Sep 20

The best okonomiyaki I ever had were in a tiny shop in Kyoto where my son took us during the year he was studying Japanese in Osaka (it would be amazing if it were the same shop you ate at, but there must be more than one?). This is a much less complicated recipe than I’ve seen elsewhere, and looks like it has all the flavors and textures I’d want. I even found the tenkasu at our local Don Quijote market. What a genius idea to use the French’s onions if you don’t have the tenkasu!
- admin | 15th Sep 20
  
  Thanks Beth! Yes, using French’s onion instead of tenkasu is my mom’s ingenious idea from back in the 80’s when Japanese ingredients were very hard to find in Pittsburgh, PA. Having a Don Quijote store nearby would have been wonderful! I think there are quite a few Okonomiyaki restaurants in Kyoto but it would be cool if we visited the same place!