Japanese Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)

To make the batter, mix all-purpose flour, water, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. You should get a pretty thick batter. Add the cabbage and mix using your hands or any tool to get it all coated. Add the eggs and mix just until combined.

Preheat a skillet of your choice for couple minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. Spoon about 1/4 of the cabbage batter into the skillet and form a pancake. Place 1/4 of the fresh pork belly slices on top and cook for 3 minutes. Flip over and fry for 5 more minutes. Flip again and cook for 2 minutes more until the cabbage is tender and pork is cooked through. Transfer to a plate and repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter.

Now prepare the sauce. If you have a chance to buy okonomiyaki, or tonkatsu sauce, skip this step. In a small bowl, whisk together ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. That’s it, you have a sauce!

Let’s serve our pancakes. Squeeze the sauce on top of the pancakes, in long ribbons. You can use a piping bag or just cut a tip of a resealable bag to do that. Squeze some mayo, also in long ribbons. Put some pickled ginger on top, if using it. Serve.