Easy Okonomiyaki(Japanese Savor Pancake) Recipe

Before

After

Okonomiyaki is probably my favorite Japanese food. It's like a pancake, but for dinner. It's also one of the most versatile and easy to cook. It's a balanced meal all in one. It has flour, meat, and vegetables. Okonomiyaki traditionally uses cabbage and thin strips of pork. My okonomiyaki is simple and tends to be dryer and thicker than you usually get at a restaurant. I usually use ground beef or tuna and just like my fried rice recipe, I keep to my rule of three different vegetables, three colors. It's great and anyone can make it. This recipe makes about 3 pancakes and serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour (about)
• 1 1/2 cups water (about)
• 1 egg
• 150 grams ground beef
• 3-4 cabbage leaves
• 1 carrot
• 1 leek(large green onion) or use regular onion
• 5 grams hondashi fish stock powder(bouillon)

Topping:

• okonomiyaki sauce(like worcester sauce)
• mayonnaise
• katsuo-bushi(bonito fish flakes)
• ao-nori power(blue seaweed). I really like this, but was out this time.

Directions:

1. Finely dice the cabbage and cut other vegetables into small pieces. 
2. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan, then add the vegetables and cook lightly together. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, water, egg, and fish stock powder.
4. Add the stir fry to the batter and mix everything well.
5. Use a ladle to spoon the batter on the frying pan one large pancake a a time. Fry and flip.
6. Serve with sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and seaweed powder. Sometimes the fish flakes will dance on top because of the steam. Enjoy.

Simmered Brown Algae Recipe (Hijiki-no-Nitsuke)

Hijiki (brown algae) has been a part of the Asian and Japanese diet for centuries. This nutritious, naturally growing seaweed is high in dietary fiber as well as rich in essential minerals iron, calcium, and magnesium. Every time my wife Junko feels weak she eats more hijiki. Iron is necessary for building hemoglobin and red blood cells and hijiki is known to help fight anemia. It's also recommended for pregnant and nursing mothers because of it's high iron and calcium content. Also according to Japanese folk wisdom, eating hijiki aids in beauty and helps produce, thick, black, lusterous hair. Probably due to its thick, black, hairlike appearance.

Hijiki is sold dried in small, thin pieces. It appears black and is somewhat hard compared to other seaweeds. It must be soaked in water before cooking. It has a dark flavor and is often added to other foods. This is an easy Japanese side dish recipe using hijiki, carrots, and abura-age(fried tofu). Abura-age is sold cold in brown, rectangular sheets. It's quite oily and must be drained.

Ingredients:

• hijiki(brown algae)                  40g
• Abura-age(fried tofu)             2 sheets
• carrot                                 1
• soy sauce                            2 Tbsp.
• sugar                                  2 Tbsp.
• cooking sake                         2 Tbsp.
• oil                                       1 Tbsp.

Directions:

1. Soak hijiki in water for 15 minutes. Then drain.
2. Cut carrot into into long, flat strips.
3. Rinse abura-age with hot water to remove excess oil and then cut into thin strips.
4. Fry hijiki, carrots, and abura-age lightly in a saucepan, add water until covered. Simmer until soft.
5. Add soy sauce, sugar, and sake and simmer another 10 minutes.