Homemade cabbage and bacon okonomiyaki

Method

1. 1

   Set up and separate raw foods

   Prepare a roughly 24 cm nonstick pan with a lid, two wide spatulas, scales, bowls and a clean food thermometer. Weigh 100 g flour, 100 g shelled egg, 100 ml water, 10 g shoyu, 60 g raw bacon, 10 g oil, 30 g ketchup, 10 g Worcestershire and 20 g commercial mayonnaise. The eggs are approximately two eggs, but their weight determines the amount. Keep egg and bacon refrigerated until needed and separate from vegetables and ready-to-eat sauces. Do not taste raw batter. Check labels: wheat, egg and soy are present; Worcestershire may contain fish.

   
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   Separate cabbage, batter ingredients, raw bacon and finishing sauces

2. 2

   Wash and finely chop the vegetables

   Remove damaged cabbage leaves and the tough core. Wash vegetables under drinking water without soap, drain and dry before weighing. Prepare 300 g trimmed cabbage chopped into fine pieces around 5 mm, and thinly slice 30 g trimmed spring onion. Mix all weighed bulb and tender tops into the batter; do not reserve extra garnish. Wash hands, board and tools if they have touched raw egg or bacon. Finely cut, well-drained cabbage helps form an even pancake; excess surface water thins the batter.

   
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   Finely chopping cabbage with spring onion nearby

3. 3

   Mix the finishing sauce

   In a clean bowl stir together 30 g ketchup and 10 g Worcestershire until uniform: 40 g before portioning. Keep covered and chilled with the separate 20 g commercial mayonnaise while preparing the batter. Do not add sugar, oyster sauce, water or other ingredients. This simple sauce is not an exact reproduction of a commercial Japanese sauce. Keep sauce bowls and spoons separate from tools used for raw meat or egg.

   
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   Dark ketchup-Worcestershire sauce and separate mayonnaise

4. 4

   Make and divide the batter

   Beat 100 g egg with 100 ml water and 10 g shoyu. Add 100 g flour and mix until dry lumps disappear, without prolonged beating. Fold in all cabbage and spring onion until coated. Divide into two similar portions; approximately 320 g each is only an initial ingredient-mass calculation, not a measured cooked weight. No resting time, raising agent, yam, dashi or tempura is required. Keep the waiting portion covered and refrigerated while cooking the first.

   
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   Raw cabbage and spring-onion batter being divided between bowls

5. 5

   Shape and cook the first base

   Heat the pan over medium heat for around 3 minutes, without making it smoke. Spread 5 g oil in it. Shape half the batter into an approximately 18 cm round, evenly 1.5–2 cm thick. Lay 30 g thin raw bacon slices across the top without folding into thick layers. Reduce to medium-low heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes to set the base. Do not press the pancake flat or make it thicker to fit the batter. Bacon is still raw: wash its tongs or plate before using them to serve.

   
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   First raw pancake topped with thin bacon slices in a pan

6. 6

   Turn and cook the bacon side

   Lift the lid carefully to avoid steam. Slide both wide spatulas beneath the pancake and turn it in a controlled movement, placing the bacon against the pan. Do not rest the raw side on a clean serving plate. Cover and cook for about 5 more minutes over medium-low heat. Reduce heat if it darkens too quickly; a browned crust does not prove the center is cooked. Keep the waiting batter chilled. Wash spatulas that have touched raw meat or batter before using them with ready-to-eat food.

   
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   Golden underside supported by two wide spatulas during turning

7. 7

   Finish and check the center

   Turn again with bacon facing upward and cook uncovered for around 2 minutes. Insert a clean thermometer probe through the side into the center without touching the pan: this egg dish containing meat must reach at least 74 °C. Also check for wet flour batter inside; appearance alone does not replace a thermometer. Continue over low heat if necessary, recheck and count extra time. Transfer with clean tools to a clean plate and cover briefly while cooking the second; do not keep food at room temperature for hours.

   
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   Cooked bacon pancake with a probe inserted through its side

8. 8

   Cook the second portion

   Spread the remaining 5 g oil in the same hot pan; shape the reserved batter and top with the remaining 30 g bacon. Repeat: 5 minutes covered on the base, 5 minutes covered with bacon facing down, then 2 minutes uncovered after turning again. Check at least 74 °C at its center with a clean probe, without touching the pan. Both batches have a cooking time of 24 minutes plus preheating. If reheating the first to serve both hot, bring it to 74 °C and add the actual time; simultaneous cooking is not assumed.

   
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   Second raw pancake in the pan beside the first cooked pancake

9. 9

   Finish and serve

   Move the second pancake to a clean plate. Use all mixed sauce, 20 g per pancake, and drizzle 10 g commercial mayonnaise on each. Serve both freshly cooked; one serving is a whole pancake. No bonito, seaweed, extra spring onion, ginger or sides are included. Estimate 25 minutes preparation, 24 cooking and 3 preheating, 52 overall, plus actual adjustments. Refrigerate leftovers in a shallow container at 4 °C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32 °C; use within 3 days and reheat to 74 °C. Keep sauces separate where possible and follow their labels.

   
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   Two finished cabbage and bacon pancakes with sauce and mayonnaise

The step photos are illustrative.