Kayleigh here. When we first moved out to Bellevue, I was
bowled over by the number of ethnic markets within easy driving distance there
were. Sparing no time, I put together a list of every exotic dish I had never
been able to find ingredients before, and began tackling them one by one.
Uwajimaya in particular was a boon, boasting a full supermarkets worth of
Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and even Hawaiian foods without having to travel out
of my way.
One of these such dishes was a recipe I had seen for Okonomiyaki, a popular Japanese street food. Often, it appears as a cabbage and seafood pancake, topped with a huge variety of items- Kewpie Mayonnaise, sesame seeds, seaweed strips, and bonito flakes being common. But many regions of the country have taken to adding their own twist ingredients, like fried eggs, blocks of cooked ramen noodles, mushrooms, and thin strips of mochi. Really, it is kind of like pizza in America, with Chicago, New York, and traditional Italian varieties dominating, but all sorts of combinations and unique spins to be found all over.
Since I already needed to translate the dish to be gluten free, I decided to experiment around with the ingredients and flavors to come up with something that Jason and I both really enjoyed. So I have to say- do not take this as an authentic recipe! We have never even tried the real thing, so this is more of a vaguely similar dish that we have decided to call Okonomiyaki.
One of these such dishes was a recipe I had seen for Okonomiyaki, a popular Japanese street food. Often, it appears as a cabbage and seafood pancake, topped with a huge variety of items- Kewpie Mayonnaise, sesame seeds, seaweed strips, and bonito flakes being common. But many regions of the country have taken to adding their own twist ingredients, like fried eggs, blocks of cooked ramen noodles, mushrooms, and thin strips of mochi. Really, it is kind of like pizza in America, with Chicago, New York, and traditional Italian varieties dominating, but all sorts of combinations and unique spins to be found all over.
Since I already needed to translate the dish to be gluten free, I decided to experiment around with the ingredients and flavors to come up with something that Jason and I both really enjoyed. So I have to say- do not take this as an authentic recipe! We have never even tried the real thing, so this is more of a vaguely similar dish that we have decided to call Okonomiyaki.
Okonomiyaki, Gluten free-style!
Ingredients:
1/2 of a Cabbage, shredded (or one 16 oz. package of unseasoned/unsauced coleslaw mix)
1/2 lb Salad Shrimp or Bay Scallops, cut in half
1/3 lb Octopus, cut into tiny bites (optional, if unavailable)
2 TB Pickled Ginger, minced
1 TB Bonito Flakes
1/2 cup White Rice Flour
1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
1 ts Xanthan Gum
Couple Pinches of salt
2 Eggs
1/2-1 cup Milk
8 slices of Bacon
Okonomiyaki/Bulldog Sauce (usually not gluten free, so either use a recipe online, or substitute with a ketchup-based Barbeque Sauce)
1 snack package of plain Potato Chips
Furikake (use a variety without soy sauce to keep it gluten free)
Mayonnaise (Kewpie brand is traditional, but some very sensitive Celiacs report reactions to it)
Directions:
1) Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Dump half the cabbage/coleslaw into the boiling water for just 30 seconds to a minute, to blanch. If any of the seafood is still raw, you should take the chance to boil it until just barely cooked, if not a little underdone.
2) If you prefer very crispy bacon, then I suggest cooking the bacon by itself now. If you like it mostly crunchy, or chewy, then just leave it raw for now.
3) In a large bowl, combined the blanched cabbage, raw cabbage, seafood, and bonito flakes. Mix in the flours, Xanthan Gum, and salt and stir until everything is coated, then add in the eggs. At this point, the mixture should not quite hold together- it will still be crumbly.
4) Add the milk a bit at a time, stirring thoroughly. Stop when the mixture JUST starts to hold together. The batter will be more like potato pancakes than regular pancakes in consistency, so you just need things to be wet enough to get it to keep it's form.
5) Put a pan onto medium heat and coat with vegetable oil. Put 1/4 of the mix in the pan, spreading it out into a thin pancake shape. Lay bacon across the top, cutting the strips when necessary.
6) Once the Okonomiyaki is ready to flip, start adding the toppings to the done side. Sauce first, then crush a few potato chips and spread then about, then Furikake. Add mayonnaise on top, then serve as soon as it is done cooking.
Ingredients:
1/2 of a Cabbage, shredded (or one 16 oz. package of unseasoned/unsauced coleslaw mix)
1/2 lb Salad Shrimp or Bay Scallops, cut in half
1/3 lb Octopus, cut into tiny bites (optional, if unavailable)
2 TB Pickled Ginger, minced
1 TB Bonito Flakes
1/2 cup White Rice Flour
1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
1 ts Xanthan Gum
Couple Pinches of salt
2 Eggs
1/2-1 cup Milk
8 slices of Bacon
Okonomiyaki/Bulldog Sauce (usually not gluten free, so either use a recipe online, or substitute with a ketchup-based Barbeque Sauce)
1 snack package of plain Potato Chips
Furikake (use a variety without soy sauce to keep it gluten free)
Mayonnaise (Kewpie brand is traditional, but some very sensitive Celiacs report reactions to it)
Directions:
1) Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Dump half the cabbage/coleslaw into the boiling water for just 30 seconds to a minute, to blanch. If any of the seafood is still raw, you should take the chance to boil it until just barely cooked, if not a little underdone.
2) If you prefer very crispy bacon, then I suggest cooking the bacon by itself now. If you like it mostly crunchy, or chewy, then just leave it raw for now.
3) In a large bowl, combined the blanched cabbage, raw cabbage, seafood, and bonito flakes. Mix in the flours, Xanthan Gum, and salt and stir until everything is coated, then add in the eggs. At this point, the mixture should not quite hold together- it will still be crumbly.
4) Add the milk a bit at a time, stirring thoroughly. Stop when the mixture JUST starts to hold together. The batter will be more like potato pancakes than regular pancakes in consistency, so you just need things to be wet enough to get it to keep it's form.
5) Put a pan onto medium heat and coat with vegetable oil. Put 1/4 of the mix in the pan, spreading it out into a thin pancake shape. Lay bacon across the top, cutting the strips when necessary.
6) Once the Okonomiyaki is ready to flip, start adding the toppings to the done side. Sauce first, then crush a few potato chips and spread then about, then Furikake. Add mayonnaise on top, then serve as soon as it is done cooking.
Jason here. I’ve loved this dish ever since it became a
staple around the house. The Okonomiyaki has a unique taste and texture which
are hard to describe.
To start you have the flours and starch. These don’t add too
much to the taste, but help hold everything together. They add a bit of
softness to the meal, but that is about it.
Next, is the cabbage. More than anything else, this adds a
crunch to the whole dish. The cabbage adds a subtle greens taste to the dish.
After that are my favorites, the octopus, shrimp, bay
scallops, and bacon. These are the meat of the dish, and comprise a large
portion of the flavor. The seafood blends together nicely, and the bacon adds
that saltier meaty taste. All but the bay scallops really lend a chewy texture
to the whole dish.
The chewiness of the octopus and bacon combines well with
crunchiness of the chips. Because these are pan fried, the eggs, and other
ingredients also tend to get a bit crispy.
Along with the chips, are the toppings like Furikake and
bonito flakes which are hard to describe. They add a salty taste, but also
something else which I can’t quite articulate. Fishy, but also earthy is the
best I can come up with.
The bulldog\Okonomiyaki sauce, and mayonnaise complete the
dish. The bulldog sauce adds a barbeque flavor, which complements the saltier
and meatier sides of the dish nicely. The mayonnaise cuts everything and adds
its own flavor to dish.
Overall you get something that is both chewy and crunchy,
and massive blend of flavors. While most dishes of this complexity would
compete in flavor and ultimately fall flat, the Okonomiyaki holds together and
shows blending flavors really can be greater than the sum of its parts.
