Okonomiyaki

Ingredients

• 4 - 5 prawns
• 50 g boiled octopus or scallops
• 150 g plain flour
• 4 tbsp / 30 g corn starch
• 1.5 tsp / 7 g baking powder
• 1 tsp / 3-5 g dashi powder
• 220 ml water
• 200 g cabbage, chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 150 g pork belly, sliced

To serve:

• mayonnaise
• okonomiyaki sauce
• dried bonito flakes
• dried aonori seaweed

Method

Cut prawns and scallops or octopus into 2 cm dices. Mix flour, cornstarch and baking powder in a bowl. Mix dashi powder and water in a cup then add in the next step.

At the table: (you will be able to make two okonomiyaki pancakes from this recipe)

Put half of the okonomiyaki batter into a small bowl. Add half the amount of cabbage, spring onion, octopus or scallops and prawns, then add 1 egg. Mix with spoon.

Heat the frying pan and add okonomiyaki mixture and make into a round pancake shape. Cover the pancake with sliced pork. Put the lid on and cook until inside is cooked. Turn the pancake.

To serve:

Pour okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise and dress with bonito flakes and aonori seaweed.

AI BATE

Culinary Teacher, Chat Potato

Ai studied at the renowned Tsuji cooking school in Osaka, returning to Chiba to work at a local Japanese -French restaurant. She then travelled to Lyon in France to study further while working at Chateau de Bagnole as an apprentice. Returning to Japan she was the first female cook at the one-Michelin-star Mona Lisa French restaurant in Tokyo for two years before taking a position at Le Gavroche in London for a further two years. She arrived in Melbourne to take up the Chef de partie position at Philippe Mouchel’s Brasserie in the Crown Casino. Following further study Ai became the office manager at Izakaya Enterprises working with Simon Denton and his team. Currently she is a working mother who runs her own business, Chat Potato, teaching authentic Japanese cookery.