Okonomiyaki With Pork Belly and a Cabbage Pancake That Holds Together

It is 6:20 on a Thursday, the skillet is hot, and a mound of shredded cabbage is sitting in a bowl waiting for a purpose. This okonomiyaki recipe takes seventeen minutes of prep and two sides in a pan, and it makes a savory cabbage pancake with pork belly under a glossy drizzle of sauce. It is breakfast for dinner's more interesting cousin, and you are allowed to eat the whole thing.

It is a pancake that walked into dinner and stayed.

Okonomiyaki is a thick, savory pancake built mostly from cabbage, held together by flour and eggs. You shred the cabbage, stir it into a batter, lay slices of pork belly in a skillet, and pour the batter over the top. After 6 minutes you flip it, give it 6 more, and finish with okonomiyaki sauce. It is street food energy in your own kitchen, with very little equipment and a lot of satisfaction.

How to make it

1. Shred cabbage finely about 5 minutes prep.
2. Mix cabbage with flour, eggs and a little water to make batter.
3. Cook pork belly slices in a skillet then pour batter over.
4. Flip the pancake after 6 minutes and cook another 6 minutes.
5. Drizzle with okonomiyaki sauce and serve sliced.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. That is worth knowing before you commit to this okonomiyaki recipe. Reheat a slice in a dry skillet over medium heat so the outside crisps again, and skip the microwave if you can, because it turns the surface soft.

The pork belly is a whole cut, so the USDA safe minimum is 145°F with a 3-minute rest. Thin slices that cook in the pan for 6 minutes under the batter and then 6 more after the flip are well past that point by the time you eat.

Shred the cabbage fine. The recipe calls for four cups, and the thinner the shreds, the better they hold together in the batter. Thick pieces leave gaps, and the pancake falls apart when you flip it.

The batter should be thick and clingy, more cabbage than liquid. The method says to mix the cabbage with flour, eggs and a little water, and the key words are a little. Add water a spoonful at a time, and stop as soon as the flour disappears. A thin batter makes a floppy pancake.

Flip with confidence. A wide spatula, or a plate held over the pan, makes the turn easier. If a piece breaks away, press it back together with the spatula and keep going, because it will fuse as it cooks.

The sauce goes on at the end. Four tablespoons of okonomiyaki sauce is the amount in the recipe, and you can brush it on evenly or drizzle it in lines. Taste a bite and add more if you want it, since the sauce is the main seasoning.

Swaps that actually work

Before you change anything in this okonomiyaki recipe, know which part is holding it up. The cabbage is the point. It is the bulk and the texture of the pancake, so keep it, and shred it thin. Green cabbage works well, and so does napa.

Pork belly gives the pancake a crisp, fatty base. Thin bacon is the closest swap, and it brings a smoky note. Thinly sliced pork shoulder or even shrimp work if that is what you have.

On SwipeCart you swipe right on a cabbage pancake and the agent does the shopping, which is the first time anyone has been this eager to buy a head of cabbage.

If you cannot find okonomiyaki sauce, mix a spoonful each of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce with a little soy sauce and a pinch of sugar. It will not taste identical, but it fills the role of a sweet, tangy, savory glaze.

Mayonnaise drizzled over the top is optional here, and a good one for a creamy contrast.

Toppings like scallions, pickled ginger, or a sprinkle of dried seaweed add freshness if you have them around.

The swap that costs you the dish is skimping on the cabbage. It is the filling and the structure, and a pancake without enough cabbage turns eggy and flat.

If it goes wrong

It is raw in the middle. The heat was too high, so the outside browned before the inside cooked. Turn the heat down to medium or medium low, cover the pan for a few minutes, and give it a little longer.

It fell apart when flipped. The batter was too thin or the cabbage was cut too coarse. Press the pieces back together in the pan and let it set for a minute.

It is soggy. The cabbage released water into the batter, or the pan was not hot enough. Cook it a little longer on each side, and let it rest on a rack for a minute, not on a plate.

It tastes flat. Sauce is the first thing to try, then salt. Brush on a little more okonomiyaki sauce, and add a sprinkle of salt if the pancake itself tastes bland. A flat okonomiyaki is a date who only talks about the weather, and the sauce is the plot twist.

What to serve with it

The default for this okonomiyaki recipe is nothing but a knife and a cutting board. The pancake is a full meal on its own, sliced like a pizza.

The better version is a small bowl of miso soup, or a crisp cucumber salad with a splash of rice vinegar, to lighten it up.

The thing in the fridge that lifts it: a drizzle of mayonnaise, a handful of sliced scallions, or a fried egg on top.

It works as lunch the next day. Reheat a wedge in a hot skillet, and it crisps back up.

If you are feeding four, cut the pancake into wedges at the table and let people add their own extra sauce. It turns dinner into something you do together, which is the nicest thing a cabbage pancake can do.

Why this one earns its place

Some dinners are polite and some are a little rowdy, and this okonomiyaki recipe belongs with the rowdy ones. It is built from cabbage, eggs, flour and a few slices of pork belly, it takes seventeen minutes of prep, and it ends up on the table looking like something you ordered from a street cart. Swipe it into your week when you want dinner to be playful, and a little bit messy.

If you are fitting more cabbage into the week, What's for Dinner Tonight can help you decide. For another savory pancake, try Haemul Pajeon, and for a Japanese dinner with crunch, Pork Tonkatsu is a good companion.

More like this: all Japanese recipes in Crave Corner.