Cooking Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder and mix.
Peel and grate a nagaimo in a small bowl. Combine the cool water and dashi powder in a measuring cup and mix together.
Add the nagaimo and dashi mix to the flour mix and combine by hand. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least one hour. Longer is better.
After the batter has rested at least one hour. you can cut out the cabbage core and mince the cabbage. If you want to add carrots or bean sprouts, put them with the cabbage.
Cut the pork belly. We like to do it in 1 inch strips because you will get more bites of pork belly when you eat the okonomiyaki instead of having to cut it while you are eating. Lightly saute the shrimp to get it mostly cooked, but tender to the bite (pretty much until the color starts to change).
Add the eggs, tempura scraps, and pickled ginger to the batter and mix. To make tempura scraps, just get a tempura batter and slowly pour it into hot oil until it browns. Then cool and chop finely. Reserve the oil for coating the frying pan.
Mix in the cabbage with the batter, normally 1/4th at a time. Fully combine by hand.
Heat the vegetable oil until it gets up to 350 degrees. We use a Japanese griddle and set it to 350 and check the temp then add the oil. You can use a frying pan as well.
Grab about a baseball ball size of the cabbage / batter and form into a patty. Place on the griddle or in the pan. Top with the pork belly and shrimp (or whatever toppings you use). Cover. Cook the first side for 3 minutes. Flip, cover, and cook the second side for 3:30. Flip again for 1 minute and then set aside to keep warm (you can warm the oven to 250 degrees and place on a baking sheet).
Once all are done, put about 1 tablespoon of okonomiyaki sauce on each and spread with the underside of a spoon. Drizzle the Japanese mayonnaise on top in a stripe pattern. Top with bonito flakes, dried seaweed, additional red ginger, green onions (as desired).
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