Stuck at home, might as well cook!

My goal has been to stretch ingredients as far as they can go and not waste anything so we can minimize trips to the store. I know it can be hard to find inspiration when you are preparing two to three meals a day, when in normal circumstances it’s hard to come up with a plan for dinner a few nights of the week. I follow a lot of cooking pages on Instagram and Pinterest, and while I don’t often follow the recipes, just seeing a picture of something, or a combination of ingredients can inspire a meal.
 
The first recipe I’d like to share is for Okonomiyaki, a wonderfully simple and versatile Japanese pancake. It starts with an egg and flour batter, filled with shredded veggies and some kind of protein, then topped with Asian condiments, typically a sweet and savory brown sauce and Kewpie mayo. I filled my pancakes with fried tofu, finely chopped green cabbage, shredded carrot, minced garlic and ginger, and once fried topped with a sauce I concocted of the remnant of a bottle of hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sriracha and a slightly sweetened Kewpie mayo stand-in of mayo, sugar and rice vinegar, then a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a little more sriracha.
 
Okonomiyaki
 
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
 
Makes 4 large pancakes
 
Ingredients:
For the pancakes:
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup water
3 eggs, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced or ¼ teaspoon ginger powder
1 carrot, grated
5 cups cabbage
Optional: 1 cup protein (I used fried tofu, would also be great with cooked shrimp or ground pork)
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
 
Toppings:
Okonomiyaki Sauce (My version was 3 tablespoons hoisin, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sriracha. If you don’t have hoisin you can combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce ketchup, sriracha and a little sugar or honey.)
Kewpie Mayo (I mixed together ¼ cup mayo, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar-can use lemon juice or white vinegar- and 1 teaspoon sugar.)
Sriracha
Sesame seeds
Sliced green onions

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour and water until smooth. Add the eggs, salt and soy sauce and whisk to combine. Stir in the garlic, ginger, carrot, cabbage and protein, if desired. Mix well.
2. Pre-heat oven to 250°. Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers and easily coats the pan use a large spoon to transfer ¼ of veggie and egg mixture to middle of skillet. Form into a large round pancake about ½ inch thick and 6 inches across. Use a spatula to press down so it is an even thickness. Cook until evenly browned about 3 minutes, flip and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer from skillet to baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat this process 3 more time to use up all the oil and batter.
3. Place each pancake on a plate and drizzle with brown sauce and mayo and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion. Enjoy!