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–+ servings

Ingredients

Yields: 4

Sauerkraut

  • 1 large cabbage
  • 15 g salt - 2% the weight of the cabbage
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds - toasted

Okonomiyaki

  • 100 g all-purpose flour
  • 3 g salt
  • 5 g sugar
  • 3 g baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 inch Chinese yam - nagaimo, grated into a paste, optional
  • 100 ml dashi stock - made by simmering kombu and bonito flakes in water for 30 minutes
  • 500 g sauerkraut - from above
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil - for frying

Okonomiyaki sauce (feel free to buy the ready-made ones)

  • 50 g ketchup
  • 35 g Worcestershire sauce
  • 20 g oyster sauce
  • 20 g fine light brown sugar

Rest of the toppings

  • Japanese mayonnaise
  • dried bonito flakes - katsuobushi
  • dried seaweed - ideally in thin slices but flakes is fine too
  • 1 stalk spring onion - sliced thinly

Method

Kraut

  • Quarter the cabbage, discard the core, and then slice it up thinly. Weigh the sliced cabbage, and measure out salt so that it is 2% of the weight of the cabbage. Transfer the cabbage to a bowl, and sprinkle the salt and toasted caraway seeds over the cabbage, and then squeeze and massage the cabbage for 3-5 minutes until it starts to release its juices. Let the cabbage sit in its juices for 20-30 minutes, then massage it a little more before transferring it into a mason jar or container, tamping it down so the cabbage is submerged in its liquid. (You can add a few tablespoons of water to it if it doesn’t quite submerge.) Then, secure a cheesecloth or paper towel over the jar or container, and leave it out at room temperature to ferment for at least a week before refrigerating it in an airtight container. (Some people let it ferment for several weeks, but I like the fresher krauts!)

Okonomiyaki batter

  • Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder together. Then, add in the eggs, grated nagaimo, and dashi stock (make sure this isn’t too hot as it’ll scramble the eggs) and whisk until no lumps remain. Finally, add in the sauerkraut and stir until well combined. Let it sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to fry them up.

Prep toppings

  • Meanwhile, prepare all the okonomiyaki toppings. To make the okonomiyaki sauce, just mix the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar in a bowl until a smooth sauce forms.

Cook okonomiyaki

  • Add a bit of vegetable oil to a non-stick pan, and heat the pan over a medium flame. Then, add in a ladle-full of the okonomiyaki batter, and spread it out until it’s roughly ½ an inch thick. Let it cook for 2 minutes on one side, or until nicely browned, then flip it over and let the other side fry for another 2 minutes. When done, remove it from the pan and transfer it onto a plate.

Toppings

  • Drizzle the okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo onto the okonomiyaki. (Use squeeze bottles to help you get that classic okonomiyaki cross-hatch pattern.) Then top it with lots of katsuobushi, dried seaweed, and sliced spring onion, and feast away!