Okonomiyaki

This delighful mess is called okonomiyaki. (As You Like It.) The picture was taken (by photographer Nancy Ellen Jones) for a forthcoming little book on pancakes I wrote for Reaktion Press, though I don't think this shot will be used. I was dreaming about them last night becasue I wrote a little recipe for them. In Japan they're eaten in the same sort of context that we eat pizza, but I contend it's best for breakfast. This picture also has sriracha hot sauce on it - the red zig zags. Here's the recipe:

Okonomiyaki (As I like it)
Buy a package of okonomiyaki flour mix in a Japanese grocery store. Regular wheat flour will not work, since this contains Japanese yam flour and dashi seasonings too. Make a batter with about 1 ½ - 2 cups of this mix and water. Add to it finely shredded Napa cabbage, bean sprouts, snow peas and any leftover vegetables you have around. Fry this in one huge honking pancake. It will take two spatulas to turn over. When cooked, which will take some time, put on a plate and sprinkle with bonito shavings and dried sea weed flakes from a jar. I prefer furikake with sesame seeds and dried bits of egg, but any kind will work. Then garnish garishly with okonomiyaki sauce (sort of a brown sweet barbecue sauce) and mayonnaise,which must be squeezed from an obscene little Kewpie doll-shaped bottle, both of which can be found in any Japanese grocery. Tuck in with friends.