New recipe: Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake similar to the Korean pajun. Made with eggs and flour, this giant omelet is similar to a French quiche or an Italian frittata, but it's all made in a pan. In fact, flipping this pancake is the most challenging part of making this dish because of its sheer size. 

Like an omelet, you can pretty much put anything you want in an okonomiyaki pancake. Although traditional ingredients might include seafood, ginger, and scallion, the most common choice of vegetable to add to this pancake is shredded cabbage. Surprisingly, Worcestershire sauce is favored as a seasoning instead of the traditional soy. But everyone's favorite condiment for this dish is Japanese Kewpie mayo which is generously squirted on top. Kewpie mayo is the top-selling brand of mayo in Japan and it's a little sweeter than the American version -- and a little thicker because it is made with egg yolks (instead of whole eggs).  

Often served as a street food snack in Japan, the pros like to flip the pancake with two spatulas. But here's a nice trick for beginners: when the pancake is ready to be flipped, put a cutting board on top of the pan as if it was a lid, then flip the pan and lid together so that the pancake is now resting on the cutting board. Next, slide the flipped pancake back into the pan to finish cooking the other side.

This dish was made for the 10th and final course at our recent Japanese pop-up dinner event and it was a big hit. Our pop-up dinner events are private affairs by invitation only. For more information about how to score a seat at our upcoming events, please join the popup_dinners_cu Facebook group, follow @popup_dinners_cu on Instagram, or subscribe to my email newsletter.

More information about upcoming pop-up events and cooking classes can always be found at www.cooking-with-paul.com. For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter.