Cabbage Okonomiyaki Pancakes

Quick & easy cabbage and spring onion pancake smothered in an Asian thick sauce (Okonomiyaki), mayo and crispy onions – its my idea of a deliciousness!

These pancakes have it all, its sweet, salty, crunchy and comes together in no time with little ingredients and a few short cuts.

While its organic cabbage season in Cape Town I am finding innovative ways to eat this delicious and versatile veggie and I had a go in recreating the popular Japanese pancake and the delicious sauces you have with it.

The pancake is not crispy but rather fluffy and moorish, if you fancy something crispy, try this recipe instead (here).

The Okonomiyaki sauce is a revelation and I will in the future definitely keep a jar handy in my kitchen.

Shortcuts: Shop-bought crispy onions (here) and a good mayo (here).

NOTE: Traditional Worcester sauce are not vegetarian (they contain fish extracts), I would suggest checking the label

Makes 4 pancakes big enough as a starter.

• extra-virgin olive oil 
• 150g plain/cake flour 
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 4 medium eggs 
• 150ml water
• 300g cabbage, very finely shredded 
• 6 spring onions, finely chopped, reserve 1/4 cup as a garnish
• handful coriander, leaves only, finely chopped 
• 3 sprigs mint, leaves only, finely chopped 
• shop-bought crispy onions
• 1/4 cup shop-bought good mayo (Kewpie would work well) 

Okonomiyaki Sauce

• 2 tablespoons vegan Worcester sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons good honey
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons brown miso

1. Preheat the oven to 120c to keep the pancakes warm.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, eggs and water together into a smooth batter. Add the cabbage and spring onions (reserve 1/4 cup for garnish) and mix well.
3. Add at the sauce ingredients together and mix well, have a taste, there should be
   a good balance between salty and sweet, adjust according to your taste. If the mayo is not in a squeeze bottle like Kewpie, add a few drops of water to the mayo to make it easier to drizzle at the end. Have a taste, you might need to add a tiny pinch of salt if the water diluted the taste somewhat.
4. In a small frying pan, big enough to hold one pancake, add a little olive oil, swirl to cover the pan, add one or two ladles of batter into the frying pan to form a thin pancake (a thicker layer will result in a thicker pancake which won’t crisp at the edges).
5. Press the batter down with a spatula and cook the one side for 3-4 minutes, peeping at the bottom, until golden underneath, flip carefully and with a cleaned spatula press to cook until both sides are golden.
   Keep warm while you continue cooking the remaining of the batter into 3 pancakes.
6. When you are ready to serve, add each pancake to a plate, drizzle liberally with the okonomiyaki sauce and the mayonnaise. Sprinkle over the spring onions followed by the crispy onions – Enjoy!