spork
Head Chef
There are okonomiyaki joints throughout Japan, just like pizza places here. Tables have a hot teppan gridle in the middle. Everyone gets a bowl of batter, an egg and small spatula. There's a communal tray of all sorts of ingredients. You crack the egg into the batter. Add whatever ingredients you like, mix it all together. Possible ingredients is a long list, but chopped cabbage is very common. Gridle it up just like a pancake. A list of toppings is long, too, but common are mayo, an A-1 like sauce, dried bonito flakes, pickled ginger, and herbs.I'm interested in the batter recipe...is it close to an egg foo yung batter?
Asian markets might sell several brands of pre-mix, just add water & egg. As well as sauces.
Made from scratch, the batter contains 1 special ingredient. It makes the batter sort of glutinous, almost like very soft mozzarella, and the finished pancake is crunchy on the outside but quite wet on the inside.
okonomi yaki batter
1:1 sifted all purpose flour and dashi soup stock
pinch of baking powder and salt
grated yama imo (mountain potato), about 1 oz of it for 1 cup batter
When grated, the yama imo metamorphs into a funky, mucilaginous texture, not unlike a beaten raw egg. I'm not sure about a suitable substitute, maybe arrowroot flour, possibly liquefying a waxy potato.
It's simple, fast, fun to cook and eat.