Fridge-Cleanout Okonomiyaki — Food Waste Feast

Apr 20

Apr 20 Fridge-Cleanout Okonomiyaki

Allium, Eggs, Fresh Herbs, Heartier Greens, Hero Recipes, Legumes, Meat and Seafood, Other Veggies, Quick Recipes, Root Vegetables, Stems+Stalks+Buds+Flowers, Veggies That Are Fruits

One of my favorite things about the Japanese pancake known as okonomiyaki is its translation: okonomi means ‘as you like it’ or ‘to your liking’, while yaki means grilled, cooked or fried. So given that it’s ‘grilled as you like it’, it’s an ideal no-waste recipe, allowing you to use up all kinds of different ingredients you have around. The common traditional ingredients are green cabbage, and often yams and pork belly, but you can use or leave out the meat and swap in so many different vegetables in place of the cabbage. You can use dashi broth, you can keep it vegetarian by just using water, the options are endless. I have been ignoring a cabbage in my fridge for….weeks? possibly months? so this is a great way to use up older veggies too.

This is the version I go to that doesn’t require too many special ingredients, other than the Kewpie mayonnaise I keep in the house expressly for this purpose.

The Rough Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need:

3 eggs

½ cup water, stock, or dashi broth (you can make your own or use an instant powder; I usually just use water)

¾ cup all-purpose flour, or a GF substitute

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

4 cups finely shredded cabbage of your choice (or swap out up to 2 cups for shredded Brussels sprouts, carrots or zucchini - anything bright and crunchy that you like)

4 to 8 scallions, thinly sliced

¼ cup thinly sliced Pickled Ginger (page 000) or anything pickled in your fridge (not essential, but really delicious)

1/2 cup diced leftover meat, optional if you have something else you want to use up

Neutral oil, for frying

For serving: optional toppings include: okonomiyaki sauce (below or storebought), mayonnaise (kewpie brand if you can get it – it drizzles more easily than American mayo), katsuoboshi (dried bonito flakes), nori (roasted seaweed), sesame seeds, extra thinly sliced scallions and pickled ginger

How you make it:

Lightly beat the eggs and water/stock/dashi in a large bowl, then whisk in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the cabbage/other vegetables, scallions, pickles, and any additional ingredients until everything is coated in the egg mixture.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a good pour of neutral oil until the pan is evenly covered. Scoop roughly half the mixture onto the plate into a large patty and fry until the bottom is set and golden-brown, about 7 minutes. Try not to press down on the pancake too much, you want to keep it puffy rather than dense. Carefully flip it over and cook the other side until nicely browned, then transfer to a plate and cook the other pancake. When you’re ready to eat, drizzle with the okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise and any other toppings you like.

If you want to make your own okonomiyaki sauce, you can whisk together the following:

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce or ½ tablespoon oyster sauce plus ½ tablespoon vinegar, or a vegetarian version of either

½ tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar or honey

Taste and add more worcestershire or vinegar if you want it tangier, more sugar or honey if you want it sweeter, more soy if it needs salt. This is just a rough recipe; all brands will taste different, so it’s up to you to adjust until you love the taste and want to smear it all over your okonomiyaki.