Okonomiyaki

Ingredients

• 120g plain flour
• 120ml cold dashi
• 80g nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam), peeled and grated
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 2 large eggs
• 300g white cabbage
• 2 spring onions
• 2 tbsp tenkasu (tempura crumbs)
• 1 tbsp beni shoga (red pickled ginger), chopped
• 8 thin slices pork belly
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 4 tbsp okonomiyaki sauce
• 3 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
• 1 tsp aonori (green seaweed powder)

Before you cook

• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
• Pour in the cold dashi and whisk until smooth, then stir in the grated nagaimo.
• Cover the batter and rest it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• Shred the cabbage into 1cm squares rather than fine threads, so it stays crunchy inside the pancake.
• Slice the spring onions thinly and chop the beni shoga.
• Put the mayonnaise into a small piping bag or a sandwich bag with a corner ready to snip.

Steps

1. Take the rested batter from the fridge and beat in the two eggs until just combined.
2. Tip in the cabbage, spring onion, tenkasu and beni shoga.
3. Fold everything together with a spatula using no more than fifteen strokes, lifting from the bottom, because overmixing collapses the cabbage and makes the pancake dense.
4. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a 24cm non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat.
5. Spoon half the mixture into the pan and shape it into a round about 2cm thick, leaving the surface rough rather than pressing it flat.
6. Lay four slices of pork belly over the top, overlapping them slightly.
7. Cook for 5 minutes until the underside is dark golden and the edges have set.
8. Slide a wide spatula fully under the pancake, and flip it in one confident movement so the pork now faces down.
9. Press the pancake once, gently, then cook for 6 minutes until the pork is crisp.
10. Flip it back over so the pork is on top and cook for a final 2 minutes.
11. Slide the pancake onto a plate and brush the top thickly with okonomiyaki sauce.
12. Zigzag the mayonnaise across it, then drag a skewer through the lines at right angles for the classic feathered pattern.
13. Shower over half the katsuobushi and half the aonori, and watch the flakes curl in the rising steam.
14. Cook the second pancake the same way with the remaining oil, batter and pork, and serve both hot.