Make okonomiyaki, Japanese savory cabbage pancakes, with turkey bacon for a delicious and healthy meal, served with some side dishes for a family. These are also great appetizers for a crowd, serve by cutting each okonomiyaki pancake into 9-12 pieces.
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Jump to RecipeWhat is Okonomiyaki?
I was first introduced to okonomiyaki by my Japanese homestay family during my summer in Osaka many years ago. They described okonomiyaki as “Japanese Pizza,” a wheat and egg batter with cabbage and other ingredients mixed in, cooked on a griddle on both sides, and then topped with with sauce and various toppings. Sometimes people might refer to okonomiyaki as a Japanese pancake or omelet or frittata.
My hosts told me that okonomiyaki is an Osaka dish that is well known all over Japan and that there’s another style from Hiroshima that is similar but the ingredients are stacked instead of mixed together. It was so much fun to gather around their coffee table to cook, eat, and talk in between batches of okonomiyaki. When our family went to Japan in 2019 we went to okonomiyaki restaurants and we tried different kinds with pork, chicken, seafood, and other regional variations.
The word “okonomiyaki” means “whatever you like, grilled.” It’s a great dish to make for someone with food allergies so they can cook their okonomiyaki the way they need to first when everything is clean and free from cross-contact.
Ingredients for Okonomiyaki
This recipe is based on what my Japanese hosts taught me and from eating at okonomiyaki restaurants in Japan. I also adapted the recipe from the package on an okonomiyaki flour by Otafuku, which has wheat flour, soy flour, kelp powder, salt, sugar, leavening, and other ingredients. In a pinch you could substitute with all purpose flour, but I would add a little bit of dashi, salt, sugar for flavor and a teaspoon of baking powder for fluffiness.
We also need shredded cabbage. It’s easier to cook when the cabbage pieces are either finely shredded or in smaller pieces. My favorite way is to use a big y-shaped vegetable peeler on the cut edge of a cabbage. It’s a little messy but gets the job done. The other way is to cut a cabbage into wedges and thinly slice (thinner than making coleslaw). If I’m short on time, I would use packages of coleslaw salad mix and then check to thinly slice any large or thick pieces of cabbage.
Okonomiyaki also uses egg as a binder. If you are allergic to eggs, this is a great recipe to use an egg-free vegan egg that works for your allergies. Or try other binders such as chia seeds or ground flax seeds soaked in some water.
Ingredients for Variations, Sauces, and Toppings
Aside from okonomyaki flour, cabbage, and eggs for the okonomiyaki, the other ingredients you will need are for the variations, sauces, and toppings. The word “okonomiyaki” means “whatever you want, grilled” in Japanese.
Okonomiyaki Variations
We can make okonomiyaki with pork belly, chicken, seafood, an egg, lots of chopped scallions, even noodles, cheese, and other veggies! Use whatever you like. Raw meat, chicken, and seafood needs to be thinly sliced so that they cook through. Sometimes I use bacon or pork belly but I mostly use Trader Joe’s turkey bacon because it’s leaner than regular bacon or pork belly and cooks quickly.
Sauces
When the okonomiyaki is ready, top it with some okonomiyaki sauce, which is a sweet and savory sauce. I use Otafuku Okonomiyaki Sauce. I had contacted them when I shared my yakisoba recipe, where you can read about the full response there about potential allergen cross-contact.
The other sauce is typically Kewpie mayonnaise, a Japanese mayo that is made with egg yolks, mustard, and other ingredients. Kewpie mayo does not include any nuts in the ingredients. They shared some detailed information about potential cross-contact. It’s up to you to decide whether you’re comfortable to try it. I included instructions on how to adapt regular mayonnaise.
Toppings
Lastly, add your toppings such as aonori (seaweed flakes), benishoga (pickled red ginger), and/or shaved bonito flakes (made from dried tuna). They are optional but so pretty. You can find all of these ingredients at a local Japanese or well-stocked Asian grocery store or online.
I usually use furikake instead of aonori, which is a seaweed and sesame sprinkle, but it’s also fine to use chopped scallion for a splash of freshness and color (remember, whatever you like!). Bonito flakes are so cool, they appear to move and wave from the heat of the cooked okonomiyaki.
Cooking Tips
You will need to cook the Japanese pizzas in a couple of frying pans or a large griddle to cook all of it for 3-4 people before the okonomiyaki gets cold. If you bought an electric skillet to make enough cheung fun, you can use it for this recipe and make 2 okonomiyaki at a time.
My son asked me how do I make the okonomiyaki so even and round. My first tip is to fill a 1-cup measuring cup with the cabbage batter mixture so that they’re all equal in volume. Then I use a spatula to flatten the scoop of cabbage batter, then tuck the stray pieces of cabbage into the okonomiyaki, and repeat. Take a minute to smush, tuck, smush, tuck until it’s shaped nicely and about 3/4 inch thick. If a piece of cabbage falls out, just put it on top of the okonomiyaki.
I also had a problem of the pieces of meat or seafood sliding off the cabbage pancake when I flip it. After I smush and tuck and add a layer of meat or seafood, I drizzle a spoonful or two of runny batter from the bottom of my bowl of batter over the meat and seafood. Allow that to cook for a couple of minutes before flipping the okonomiyaki.
Allergy Aware Okonomiyaki
This recipe is free of peanuts, tree nuts, milk, fish, shellfish, and sesame as written. If you were ever to eat okonomiyaki at a restaurant or at someone’s home, be aware that the dish could contain milk (cheese), fish (bonito flakes), seafood (shrimp, oysters, or oyster sauce), or sesame (using furikake instead of aonori).
If you’re allergic to soy, I would recommend that you modify this recipe by using all-purpose flour instead of okonomiyaki flour and making your okonomiyaki sauce from scratch.
People who are wheat-free and/or gluten-free could use a gluten-free flour substitute and will need to make the sauce from scratch.
Egg is probably the easiest to substitute with a vegan egg product, other egg substitutes, and an egg-free “spread” instead of mayonnaise. In order for a product to be called mayonnaise, it must contain eggs. Follow Your Heart is a very allergy friendly brand, I can’t remember if I’ve tried their Vegenaise but it’s worth checking out.
Easy Okonomiyaki with Turkey Bacon, Japanese Savory Cabbage Pancakes
Ingredients
Seasoned Mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Okonomiyaki
- 1 pound cabbage about 1/2 large cabbage head
- 3/4 cup okonomiyaki flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup scallions chopped (more if desired)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 5 slices turkey bacon cut in half
- okonomiyaki sauce*
Optional toppings
- aonori seaweed flakes, optional
- bonito flakes shaved dried fish, optional
- benishoga pickled red ginger, optional
- scallions finely chopped
Instructions
Seasoned Mayonaise
- Combine 2 teaspoon rice vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon sugar, stir until the sugar dissolves. Add 1/2 cup mayonnaise and stir until blended. Transfer to a squirt bottle if using, otherwise set aside.
Okonomiyaki
- Cut 1 pound cabbage (approximately half a head) into two wedges. Use a large Y-peeler to shred the cabbage or use a sharp knife to finely slice the cabbage. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add 3/4 cup okonomiyaki flour, 3/4 cup water, 3 eggs, and 1/4 cup scallions to the bowl of cabbage. Use chopsticks or a large fork to mix until the flour, water, and eggs are well mixed.
- Preheat 2 non-stick frying pans or a large griddle on medium heat until hot (about 4-5 minutes). While waiting, scoop 1 cup of the cabbage batter in a measuring cup.
- When the pan is hot enough, drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil and swirl to coat. Pour the scoop of cabbage batter the center of the pan and set a timer for 4 minutes. Use a spatula to flatten the mound of cabbage and shape it into a round about 1 inch thick. Place 1 turkey bacon (2 half pieces) on top of the cabbage and drizzle a spoonful of batter on them. While waiting, repeat to make another okonomiyaki in the second frying pan or on the other side of the griddle.
- After 4 minutes, use a spatula to check that the bottom is slightly browned and then flip the pancake to cook the other side. Set a timer for 4 minutes. Flip the okonomiyaki again and cook the first side for 3 more minutes. Repeat until all the cabbage batter is used up.
- Add the okonomiyaki sauce and seasoned mayonnaise to taste (about 2 teaspoons of each) and optional toppings as desired and serve. Or plate the okonomiyaki and add sauce and toppings as desired at the table.
Notes
Related Recipes
Ideally, you can cook the okonomiyaki at the table and eat other things while you’re waiting. Here are a few ideas that would go well with okonomiyaki.
- Edamame with Sichuan Peppers – great as a healthy small bite with lots of flavors
- When we ate a okonomiyaki restaurants, we also order yakisoba.
- Potato Salad Recipe – Japanese Style, Healthy is a great side dish.
- It might feel hot to cook the okonomiyaki, I like something cold and tart Japanese Sweet Cucumber Salad Recipe
- Watermelon Yakult Drink Recipe: Easy & Refreshing
- End the meal with a Dragon Fruit Salad with Watermelon, Strawberries, and Blueberries
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