Walter Riesen’s Okonomiyaki (Japanese Vegetable Pancake)

Ingredients

For the Pancake batter:

• 5 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup grated radish
• 1 ½ cup flour of choice (can be gluten-free)
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cup water
• 1 ½ Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil (or any good frying oil)

For the Garnishes:

• 1 cup finely chopped scallions
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp miso paste
• A little sriracha sauce or okonomiyaki sauce (optional)
• Bonito flakes or seaweed flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. 1
   To make the shredded cabbage, you can either chop it very finely, or use the large holes in a box grater to shred the cabbage into small pieces. A food processor works well for this too. Grate the carrots, radishes, or any other vegetable you are grating into the mix. Just make sure you end up with 8 cups of grated vegetables.
2. 2
   Whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, water, and tamari sauce until uniform. But don’t overmix. Gently incorporate this into the vegetable mixture. Use the batter right away, this is not a batter you can make ahead of time.
3. 3
   In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbsp oil and spoon about a quarter of the pancake batter to make a large 10-inch pancake that is about 1/2 inch thick. Cover with a lid, and cook on one side for about 3 to 4 minutes until golden underneath, then flip over gently. You may need 2 spatulas to flip without damaging the pancake. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on the other side and transfer to a plate. If you wish, keep your pancakes in a 250F oven until they are all ready to serve. Repeat until all your pancakes are ready.
4. 4
   To make the sauce, whisk the mayonnaise and miso paste together until uniform. Serve the pancakes hot, with the sauce, minced scallions, and other optional toppings. Enjoy!