Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) — Osaka-Style Savory Cabbage Pancake
Okonomiyaki is a beloved Japanese savory pancake, especially associated with Osaka home cooking and street food. This version folds cabbage, nagaimo, dashi, egg, and pork into a tender pancake finished with sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and aonori.
Printable Recipe Card
Servings: 4 · Total: 49 min · Difficulty: medium
Ingredients (quick list)
- 160 g all-purpose flour
- 4 g baking powder
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 180 ml awase dashi (kombu and bonito stock, chilled)
- 120 g nagaimo yam (peeled and finely grated)
- 4 large eggs
- 520 g green cabbage (cored and finely chopped into 1 cm pieces)
- 4 scallions (thinly sliced)
- 45 g tenkasu tempura crumbs
- 35 g beni shoga pickled ginger (finely chopped)
- 120 g thinly sliced pork belly (cut into 12 short strips)
- 30 ml neutral oil
+ 4 more in the full ingredients section below.
Steps (summary)
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until evenly combined. Pour in the chilled awase dashi and whisk just…
- Cover the bowl and rest the batter in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This short rest hydrates the flour and helps the okonomi…
- Add the eggs, chopped cabbage, scallions, tenkasu, and beni shoga to the rested batter. Fold with a large spoon only until the…
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet or flat griddle over medium heat and brush it with 7.5 ml of the neutral oil. Spoon one-quarter…
- Lay 30 g of the sliced pork belly across the top of the pancake in a single layer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the underside…
- Slide a wide spatula under the pancake and flip it so the pork side is down. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes more, until the pork is br…
+ 2 more steps in the full instructions section below.
Cultural Background
Often called a cook-it-as-you-like pancake, okonomiyaki is strongly linked with Osaka and Kansai food culture. It is a casual, communal dish served at home, festivals, and restaurants where diners may cook it on a hotplate.
Equipment
💡 Tips
- Keep the cabbage pieces small and dry; excess moisture makes the pancake steam instead of brown.
- Do not flatten the okonomiyaki with the spatula, because the fluffy interior comes from trapped steam and lightly folded batter.
- Cook over steady medium heat; high heat burns the pork and sauce sugars before the cabbage softens.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Mixing the batter until smooth after adding cabbage.
✅ Fix: Fold briefly so the cabbage stays distinct and the finished pancake remains light.
❌ Pressing the pancake down while it cooks.
✅ Fix: Let it cook undisturbed so steam can soften the cabbage and puff the batter.
❌ Using heat that is too high.
✅ Fix: Cook over medium heat so the pork browns while the center cooks through safely.
🧊 How to Store
Refrigerate cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side, then add fresh sauce, mayonnaise, aonori, and bonito flakes.
📅 Make Ahead
Chop the cabbage, slice the scallions, and grate the nagaimo up to 6 hours ahead. Keep them chilled separately, and mix the eggs and cabbage into the batter only just before cooking.
🍽️ Pairs Well With
- Japanese pickles
- miso soup
- chilled beer
- barley tea
- edamame.
Regional Variations
- Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki layers batter, cabbage, pork, noodles, egg, and sauce rather than mixing the cabbage into the batter.
- Modan-yaki is an Osaka-style variation that adds yakisoba noodles for a heartier pancake.
- Seafood okonomiyaki may include squid, shrimp, or scallops in place of some or all of the pork.
Ingredients
- 160 gall-purpose flour
- 4 gbaking powder
- 3 gfine sea salt
- 180 mlawase dashi (kombu and bonito stock, chilled)
- 120 gnagaimo yam (peeled and finely grated)
- 4large eggs
- 520 ggreen cabbage (cored and finely chopped into 1 cm pieces)
- 4scallions (thinly sliced)
- 45 gtenkasu tempura crumbs
- 35 gbeni shoga pickled ginger (finely chopped)
- 120 gthinly sliced pork belly (cut into 12 short strips)
- 30 mlneutral oil
- 120 mlokonomiyaki sauce
- 60 mlJapanese mayonnaise
- 4 tspaonori
- 12 gkatsuobushi flakes
🔄 Substitutions
- awase dashi→ kombu-shiitake dashi
- nagaimo yam→ grated peeled potato
- thinly sliced pork belly→ peeled raw shrimp
- okonomiyaki sauce→ 60 ml Worcestershire sauce mixed with 45 ml ketchup and 15 ml oyster sauce
Instructions
- 1
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until evenly combined. Pour in the chilled awase dashi and whisk just until no dry patches remain, then stir in the grated nagaimo to make a thick, slightly elastic batter.
- 2
Cover the bowl and rest the batter in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This short rest hydrates the flour and helps the okonomiyaki cook up tender rather than bready.
- 3
Add the eggs, chopped cabbage, scallions, tenkasu, and beni shoga to the rested batter. Fold with a large spoon only until the cabbage is lightly coated, because overmixing crushes the cabbage and makes the pancake dense.
- 4
Heat a large cast-iron skillet or flat griddle over medium heat and brush it with 7.5 ml of the neutral oil. Spoon one-quarter of the mixture onto the hot surface and shape it into a round pancake about 18 cm wide and 2 cm thick.
- 5
Lay 30 g of the sliced pork belly across the top of the pancake in a single layer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the underside is deeply golden and the edges look set, but do not press down on the pancake.
- 6
Slide a wide spatula under the pancake and flip it so the pork side is down. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes more, until the pork is browned and the center reaches 74°C.
- 7
Flip the pancake once more so the pork side faces up, then cook for 1 additional minute to re-crisp the bottom. Transfer it to a plate and repeat with the remaining oil, batter, and pork to make 4 okonomiyaki.
- 8
Brush each hot pancake with 30 ml of okonomiyaki sauce, then drizzle with 15 ml of Japanese mayonnaise. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tsp aonori and 3 g katsuobushi flakes so the flakes curl gently from the heat before serving.
🪪 Recipe Passport
Cultural Background
Often called a cook-it-as-you-like pancake, okonomiyaki is strongly linked with Osaka and Kansai food culture. It is a casual, communal dish served at home, festivals, and restaurants where diners may cook it on a hotplate.
Regional Variations
Researched from multiple sources and validated by the Zaffaron editorial team. Every recipe is tested for accuracy, measurements, and cultural authenticity.
📚 Sources & Cultural References
- Hiroko Shimbo — The Japanese Kitchen: 250 Recipes in a Traditional Spirit — (2000)
- Japan National Tourism Organization — Japan: The Official Guide, Okonomiyaki
Sources cited by the Zaffaron editorial team during recipe research. Cultural and culinary references supporting authenticity claims.
Nutrition per serving
Pairs well with
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