RECIPE: Osaka-style Okonomiyaki

Recipe contributed by Rieko Chao

Okonomiyaki ready for toppings

On Saturday July 14 at the JCCC Natsu Matsuri (Summer Festival), JSS will be preparing and selling okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and onigiri. Our amazing volunteer and konamono master, Rieko Chao, has generously agreed to share one of her secret recipes from Natsu Matsuri with our newsletter readers.
We hope to see you at the JSS booth on July 14 at Natsu Matsuri. Our dedicated and talented volunteers will be making all the okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and onigiri from scratch. Last year everything sold out quickly. So come early and bring your appetite!
JSS needs the help of many volunteers at Natsu Matsuri. If you are interested in helping please contact our volunteer coordinator, Chie Takano Reeves chie.takanoreeves@jss.ca

Osaka-style Okonomiyaki
Ingredients (for one pancake)
40g all-purpose flour
40ml dense dashi soup stock (keep it cool)
20g Japanese yam (Nagaimo)　
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt　
1/2 teaspoon sugar
40g bacon (pork belly meat), sliced
100g cabbage roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tenkasu (tempura flakes)
2 teaspoons beni-shoga (Pickled red ginger)  
1 egg

Method 
Although it takes more time, okonomiyaki is the most delicious if each pancake is prepared individually.

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar and put them into one bowl (Bowl 1).
2. Peel and grate nagaimo in another small bowl and add dashi (Bowl 2).
3. Add the liquid ingredients (Bowl 2) to the bowl containing the flour (Bowl 1). Add the liquid ingredients gradually to avoid making a lump. Combine the ingredients gently. Be careful not to over-mix. If you have time, rest the batter for about 2 hours. It will make your okonomiyaki more delicious.
4. Add cabbage, tenkasu, and red ginger to the batter and stir for 30 seconds. Again, be careful not to over-mix.
5. Add an egg, first crush the yolk and stir for 15 seconds. Be careful not to mix too much.  If it is mixed too much, it will turn out to be a hard okonomiyaki.
6. Heat the hotplate to 220℃. Grease it thinly with sesame oil and pour the okonomiyaki mixture into the hotplate. Make a round shape while adjusting to the thickness to 2 cm. Do not press down or pat okonomiyaki
7. Place the pork belly meat on top of the okonomiyaki all over.
8. Cook as it is for 4 minutes, then flip the okonomiyaki and cook for five more minutes. Flip the okonomiyaki again and cook for three more minutes.

If the okonomiyaki becomes fluffy and crisp, that is a success!
Top the okonomiyaki with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and aonori (dried green seaweed powder).
Enjoy!