Okonomiyaki for a picnic dinner

Posted by Melissa Fann on

Bro, a friend and I went to watch 'Othello' last night at Fort Canning.  As it's part of the 'Shakespeare in the Park' series, it meant bringing your own mat and picnic dinner.  Tired of the usual potato salads and sandwiches, plus my friend and I just came back from Japan, we went with a Japanese themed picnic!

I made okonomiyaki, which some people call the Japanese pancake but I think that this is a bit of a misnomer since it's more of a savoury-sweet-mayo dish that's just fun to eat.  What you'll need for 4 saucer-sized okonomiyakis:
  • 120g of okonomiyaki flour
  • 1 egg
  • 250g of shredded cabbage
  • 100g of chopped prawn/chicken/squid/ octopus/bacon....whatever you like (okonomiyaki literally means 'as you like it'
  • 150ml of water
  • Mayonnaise (my preference is for Kewpie brand)
  • okonomiyaki sauce (alternative would be Worcestershire sauce mixed with a bit of plum sauce or prune puree)
  • Aonori (the fine seaweed)
  • shredded bonito flakes
  • 1 tsp of shisho powder (optional)
If you do not have okonomiyaki flour, try using plain flour mixed with about 3 tablespoon of tapioca flour.  What makes okonomiyaki flour different is the mountain yam flour, which gives it a slight chewy texture and binds everything properly.  If you do not have the bonito flakes or the seaweed, just omit.  

  1. Mix the flour, egg and water until it's smooth
  2. Add in the cabbage, shisho, seafood/meat item
  3. Once everything is well mixed, use a ladle to scoop and make a nice round pancake on your frying pan
  4. Flip only when you see that the batter is half cooked and the bottom is able to slide around the frying pan
  5. Cook other side for another 4-5 min (depends on how large your okonomiyaki is)
  6. When cooked, plate your okonomiyaki and drizzle the okonomiyaki sauce and mayo.
  7. Top the okonomiyaki off with aonori and bonito flakes
Prep time: 10-15min.
Cooking time: 20-25min (depends on how many okonomiyaki)

This time round, I used baby squid...I've added corn to my okonomiyaki before and I think it adds a nice crunch.  I've yet to try adding cheese to it but I'd love to try it one day.  I still have a lot of the flour left so...I may just do so!! 

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