American Style Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki was created in Japan. It's basically a Japanese pancake consisting of a basic batter with various meats and vegetables added, and traditionally served with mayonnaise and oko sauce. It is, as Alton Brown would say, "refrigerator velcro" since you can use just about anything in it. I used cabbage, bacon and chicken in mine, but I purposely made this recipe non specific to encourage you to use your own ingredients. Most of the toppings, in particular, can be found at your local Asian section, or better, a local Asian store.

My version of oko isn't standard; it's a basic pancake mix with fillings. A more traditional one can be found here. There are two schools of thought concerning the making of oko--you can either mix the vegetables and batter up in a bowl and then pour it on top of the meat, or you can pour the batter on top of the meat and then add the veggies--but either way, it's quick and delicious, especially if you have everything cut up beforehand.

Shavon's American Style Okonomiyaki

Batter:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk

Fillings:
1-2 cups total chopped veggies
1-2 cups total chopped meats

Toppings:
Okonomiyaki sauce (a recipe can be found in the link above)
Bonito flakes
Hoisin sauce
Mayonnaise

Combine batter ingredients, using enough milk to bring the batter to a runny consistency. Put 1/4 cup meats in nonstick pan on medium heat. Place 1/4 cup vegetables in a separate bowl and add 1/2 cup batter, mixing until ingredients are covered in batter. Pour over meats and let cook for 3-4 minutes (or until meats are done--if using cooked meat, till batter is set. Flip oko over and cook the other side. Serve with bonito flakes, oko sauce, hoisin sauce and/or mayonnaise. Serves four.