Japanese Okonomiyaki Recipe — Osaka's Greatest Savory Pancake

The name means "what you like, grilled" — okonomi (what you like) + yaki (grilled). It's Japan's most flexible dish. The base is always batter and cabbage; everything else adapts to what you have and what you want.

There are two major regional styles:

Osaka-style (Kansai/Osaka-yaki): All ingredients mixed directly into the batter and cooked as a single pancake. The home cook's version and the most common internationally.

Hiroshima-style: Layers built on the griddle — batter poured first, then separately stacked with yakisoba noodles, cabbage, and protein. More complex; requires a specific technique and usually a teppan griddle.

This guide covers Osaka-style.

The Batter

The batter is the foundation and needs one special ingredient: nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam). Grated nagaimo adds a unique stickiness and lightness that produces the characteristically fluffy interior texture of good okonomiyaki.

• 150g all-purpose flour
• 150ml dashi
• 2 eggs
• 100g nagaimo (grated) — substitute: 2 extra eggs + ½ tsp baking powder if unavailable
• ½ tsp salt

Mix together. Rest 10 minutes.

The Cabbage

3 cups napa cabbage, roughly shredded — this is more cabbage than feels right. Okonomiyaki is mostly cabbage held together by batter. Use napa cabbage, not regular cabbage — it has more moisture and softer texture.

Mix the shredded cabbage into the batter.

The Fillings

Choose one base and add to the batter:

Buta tama (pork and egg): 100g thinly sliced pork belly per pancake, laid over the top of the batter in the pan before flipping.

Ebi tama (shrimp): 6-8 medium shrimp, peeled and roughly chopped, mixed into the batter.

Ika tama (squid): Squid rings, mixed into batter.

Yasai okonomiyaki (vegetarian): Corn, scallions, mushrooms, and extra cheese in the batter.

Cooking

Per pancake:

1. Heat a wide pan or griddle over medium heat. Brush with oil.
2. Pour batter (approximately ⅔ cup for one pancake) into the center. Shape into a round, 2-3cm thick. Don't spread too thin.
3. For buta tama: lay pork belly slices across the top.
4. Cook 4-5 minutes without moving until the bottom is set and golden.
5. The flip: Use two spatulas — one to support, one to guide. Flip decisively. Press down gently. Cook 4-5 more minutes.
6. The pancake should be cooked through — a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.

The Toppings (Essential)

This is not optional. The combination of these four toppings is what makes okonomiyaki okonomiyaki.

1. Okonomiyaki sauce: Similar to Worcestershire, but thicker and sweeter. Bull-Dog brand is the standard. Drizzle generously, spread with a brush.
2. Kewpie mayonnaise: In a zigzag pattern over the sauce.
3. Katsuobushi (bonito flakes): Scattered generously. They dance from the steam.
4. Aonori (dried green seaweed powder): Scattered.

Optional: beni shoga (pickled red ginger) on the side for contrast.

Serving

Okonomiyaki is a communal dish in Japan — cooked at the table on a teppan griddle, eaten directly from the pan with special small spatulas. For home cooking, a cast iron skillet gets very close to the teppan result.

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Okonomiyaki scales from a weeknight quick dinner (15 minutes) to a full teppanyaki evening with a tabletop griddle. The batter keeps refrigerated for 2 days; make extra.