Okonomiyaki Recipe

This is another one of my favorites. It's a quick meal that fills you up just right and isn't time consuming. It's actually pretty common in Japan, especially amongst students, and I saw it in the 2006 Japanese drama, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, and I decided I must try it. I don't quite remember where I adapted it from, but either way, it's good. :) You can also very easily make it vegetarian, since it's also known as "Japanese Pizza" - you can put whatever you want in it.

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)
About 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:
Batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 eggs
• About 5 cabbage leaves, chopped
• 4 to 8 ounces of chopped whatever you'd like (mushrooms, zucchini, etc.)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup tempura flakes (tenkatsu) [optional]
  
• Topping(s): mayonnaise, okonomi sauce, seaweed
  

Vegetarian Okonomi Sauce

• 1 cup vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup vegetarian oyster sauce
  

DIRECTIONS:

• Mix flour with water in a medium bowl along with the eggs.
• Stir in the cabbage and other ingredients of your choice.
• Heat oil in a non-stick pan and pour in the batter (~6 inches across, 1/2 inch thick).
  
• Cook on both sides over medium heat until golden brown (~5 minutes).
• Transfer to a serving plate and add sauce, mayonnaise, and seaweed.
• Repeat until all the batter is used up.
  

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

• I usually cut the recipe in half since when I make this, I make two: one for lunch and one for dinner; I feel that okonomiyaki would taste much better fresh, instead of in the fridge overnight, then microwaved. I usually put in zucchini and/or mushrooms, but I've also added in veggie "beef" balls that reminded me of fish (I've no idea how that works).
  
• The batter is somewhat thin, but it still thinly covers the ingredients.
• When chopping the cabbage, try to avoid the white stem - they take longer to cook and the batter might be burned. Remembering to cook on medium heat helps.
  
• The hardest part is to flip over the okonomiyaki without flinging the uncooked (and, therefore, unattached) toppings about. The most time-consuming is chopping everything. All in all, it's easy and simple once you get the hang of it.
  
• Store-bought okonomi sauce has fish extract in it, hence the neat little recipe I found online that I added to this. The mayonnaise is the Japanese kind in that squishy bottle (Kewpie) with the red cap.
  

My first attempt at this. That's miso soup in the upper left corner.
I'm surprised I still have these photos on my computer.