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Freshly cooked okonomiyaki on a dark ceramic plate, brushed with glossy okonomiyaki sauce and zigzagged with Japanese mayonnaise, topped with dancing bonito flakes, aonori, and green onion slices

Okonomiyaki: Japanese Savory Cabbage Pancakes

Osaka-style savory pancakes of shredded cabbage and dashi batter with pork belly, cooked golden and finished with okonomi sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and aonori.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the batter
  • 120 g all-purpose flour 1 cup
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 120 ml cold dashi stock 1/2 cup; instant dashi dissolved in water is fine
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 2 tablespoons grated nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam) optional, for extra fluffiness; grated raw potato is a partial substitute
For the pancake
  • 300 g green cabbage about 4 packed cups, shredded into 3 mm ribbons
  • 3 green onions thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons tenkasu (tempura bits) optional
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil for the pan
  • 100 g thinly sliced pork belly 6–8 slices
For topping
  • 3 tablespoons okonomiyaki sauce about 3–4 tablespoons; Otafuku is the classic
  • Kewpie mayonnaise for the zigzag
  • 1 tablespoon katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
  • 1 teaspoon aonori (green seaweed powder)

Method
 

  1. Whisk the batter. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and sugar, then add the dashi and eggs and whisk until completely smooth. Stir in the grated nagaimo if using. The batter should pour like thick cream.
  2. Fold in the cabbage. Add the shredded cabbage, green onions, and tenkasu. Fold gently until every shred is coated — stop the moment it's combined; overmixing develops gluten and turns the pancake dense and gummy. Cover and rest in the fridge 30–60 minutes.
  3. Heat the pan. Warm a large nonstick skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of oil. You want a confident sizzle when the batter lands — if the oil smokes, back off before it goes in.
  4. Spread and top. Pour in half the mixture and nudge it into a round pancake about 20 cm (8 inches) across and 1.5 cm thick. Lay 3–4 pork belly slices across the top, pressing them in lightly.
  5. Cook undisturbed, 5 minutes. Leave it alone — no peeking, no pressing. The bottom needs the full time to set into a golden crust that survives the flip.
  6. Flip with conviction. Slide a wide spatula fully underneath, support the top with a second spatula or a plate, and flip in one decisive motion. Cook the second side 4–5 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and browned and a skewer poked into the center comes out with no wet batter.
  7. Sauce it. Slide onto a warm plate, pork side up. Brush generously with okonomiyaki sauce, squeeze Kewpie in a zigzag over the top, then scatter the katsuobushi and aonori. Serve immediately.

Notes

Note 1: Shred the cabbage as thin as you can — about 3 mm ribbons. Thick chunks don't cook through in the time the batter needs, and the pancake shears along them when you flip.
Note 2: Rest the batter 30–60 minutes in the fridge. Resting relaxes the gluten, which is the difference between a tender pancake and a gummy one.
Note 3: Don't press the pancake while it cooks. Pressing flattens the fluffy interior — leave it undisturbed for the full 5 minutes on the first side.
Note 4: Medium heat, not high. The pancake is thick; high heat burns the outside before the cabbage steams through inside.
Note 5: Flip with two spatulas — one wide spatula fully underneath, the second supporting from a plate. One decisive motion, not a hesitant wiggle.