Australian Gourmet Traveller – September 2019

1 cup plain flour

2½ tsp baking powder

1½ tsp sugar

1 large egg

1 tbsp vegetable oil (plus an

additional 2 tbsp if making

a vegetarian version)

2¼ cups (tightly packed)

shredded cabbage

310 gm thinly sliced rindless

pork belly (see note)

or uncured bacon

GARNISHES

Kewpie mayonnaise

and Bull-Dog tonkatsu

sauce (see note), to serve

Aonori (see note), to serve

Coarsely chopped spring

onion, to serve

Katsuobushi (see note),

to serve

1 Combine flour, baking

powder, sugar and 1 tsp

salt flakes in a bowl. Whisk

egg, oil and ¾ cup water

in another bowl. Add wet

ingredients to the dry and

mix briefly until most of the

lumps of dry flour are gone.

Fold in shredded cabbage.

2 Heat a non-stick frying pan

over medium-high heat and

lay 3 strips of pork belly or

bacon next to each other in

it. Once pork begins to sizzle,

cook for 2 minutes to render

some of the fat (or if you’re

making a vegetarian version,

coat the pan with 1 tbsp oil

before adding the batter).

3 Spoon half the batter

on top and spread into a

1.5cm-thick layer, cook for

3-4 minutes, then sneak a peek

underneath. Once the bottom

is crisp and brown, give the

pancake a flip with a spatula.

Do it confidently and quickly

to avoid making a mess. Cook

Savoury pancakes (okonomiyaki)

SERVES 4 AS A DRINKING SNACK

“If you’re familiar with okonomiyaki, chances are you know it as a

clean-out-the-fridge franken-pancake stued with cabbage, onion,

pork belly or bacon, seafood, fish cakes, udon, and/or basically

anything else you can think of,” says Orkin. “As you might guess,

it’s usually something you scarf down during a night of drinking.

We lived in Tokyo, where the okonomiyaki tend to be a more

spartan aair. This version is made only with cabbage and thin

slices of pork belly, but feel free to gussy it up with whatever you

like. It’s mercifully simple and can be prepared with minimal fuss.”

for another 3-4 minutes, until

okonomiyaki is golden brown

on both sides. The inside

should be cooked through,

but it’s fine if it’s still a bit

moist – the cabbage will give

up a fair amount of water.

4 Slide okonomiyaki onto

a plate and top freely with

squiggles of Kewpie mayonnaise

and Bull-Dog tonkatsu. Sprinkle

with aonori, onion and a big

handful of katsuobushi (unless

you’ve made a vegetarian

version). Serve immediately,

then use the remaining

ingredients to make and serve

the second okonomiyaki.

Note When it comes to thinly

sliced pork belly, I’m talking

about bacon-esque slices. A

good Japanese market will sell

packages of presliced meat,

or you can ask the butcher to

thinly shave a boneless pork

belly on the meat slicer for you.

You can also buy a piece of the

meat you need and pop it into

the freezer for an hour so it’s

easier to slice, then cut your

own. The result might not be

as perfect as what you’d find at

a Japanese market, but it’ll still

be tasty. Kewpie mayonnaise,

Bull-Dog tonkatsu sauce,

aonori (powdered dried green

seaweed) and katsuobushi

(dried bonito flakes) are

available from Asian and

Japanese supermarkets. 

Savoury

pancakes

(okonomiyaki)

Teriyaki yellowtail (buri no teriyaki)

SERVES 4 AS PART OF A SHARED MEAL

“Gaijin love yellowtail,” says Ivan Orkin. “It’s a fish that’s mild in
flavour and fatty, and it’s a mainstay at every sushi bar in America.
For this preparation – another standard at any Japanese diner

• I sear fillets of yellowtail (called hamachi or buri, depending
  on the size and species) in a hot pan, then simmer them in sake,
  mirin and soy sauce. The fat renders from the fish and mingles
  with the liquid, creating a surprisingly rich sauce.” Pictured p132.

4 yellowtail kingfish fillets

(about 350gm each)

3 tbsp sake

3 tbsp mirin

3 tbsp soy sauce

1½ tbsp sugar

2 tsp vegetable oil

Steamed rice (see recipe

p138), to serve

1 Pat yellowtail fillets dry with

a paper towel and season

lightly with 1•⁄— tsp salt flakes.

2 Whisk together sake, mirin,

soy sauce and sugar in a bowl

until sugar dissolves.

3 Heat a large non-stick frying

pan over medium heat, then

coat with oil. Carefully lay

yellowtail fillets in the pan and

cook until golden brown on the

first side (2 minutes), then flip

and cook for 1 more minute.

Add sauce mixture and cook,

flipping the fillets occasionally

to coat them in sauce, until

fish is cooked through and

the sauce is beginning to

get syrupy (3 minutes).

4 Transfer fillets to a plate

and top with sauce. Serve

with steamed rice.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 137