Savory Pancakes (Okonomiyaki) by Ivan Orkin & Chris Ying

Okonomiyaki are well loved all over Japan, but Hiroshima and Osaka are especially famous for their regional versions.

Photo by Aubrie Pick

If you’re familiar with okonomiyaki, chances are you know it as a clean-out-the-fridge franken-pancake stuffed with cabbage and a multitude of other ingredients, such as onion, scallions, pork belly or bacon, seafood, fish cakes, udon, mochi (rice cakes), and/or basically anything else you can think of. (As you might guess, it’s usually something you scarf down during a night of drinking.) Okonomiyaki are well loved all over Japan, but Hiroshima and Osaka are especially famous for their regional versions. There, these pancakes can grow to several inches in thickness and normally come garnished with copious squiggles of Kewpie mayo and Bull-Dog sauce, as well as katsuobushi (bonito flakes) that wave and wilt in the steam, as though they have a life of their own. We lived in Tokyo, where the okonomiyaki tend to be a more spartan affair. This version is made only with cabbage and thin slices of pork belly, but feel free to gussy it up with whatever you like (or make it vegetarian by omitting the pork belly and katsuobushi). It’s mercifully simple and can be prepared with minimal fuss, even after partaking of a couple adult beverages.