I know, I know, two cabbage recipes in a row? While I’m sure some of you are delighted, some might be totally “over” cabbage. But I’m all about reducing waste over here, so I needed to find a recipe to use up my leftover cabbage, carrot, and green onion from my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. I decided to try my hand at Okonomiyaki, or Japanese savory cabbage pancakes. And as per usual, this is my interpretation of Okonomiyaki, not a traditional representation of the dish. I love putting spins on classics to make them work for my pantry and taste buds.
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What Else Can You Add to Cabbage Pancakes?
What attracted me to this dish is the extreme flexibility of ingredients, which makes it a great “sweep the kitchen” recipe. And you know how I love recipes that accept whatever leftovers you might happen to have in the fridge at the time!
I didn’t buy anything special ingredients for my cabbage pancakes. Instead, I used all the ingredients that I had on hand, and you can too. Other vegetables that would be great in these pancakes include:
- kale
- bean sprouts
- radish
- shredded broccoli or Brussels sprouts
- zucchini.
In addition to vegetables, you can toss all sorts of meat into your pancakes. Try:
- shrimp
- canned salmon
- shredded chicken
- pork
- bacon
Have Fun with Toppings!
And that’s just what you can put IN your cabbage pancakes. Don’t even get me started with what you can put ON your pancakes. Traditionally, Okonomiyaki has a special sauce that is kind of sweet-salty-tangy (here’s a great Okonomiyaki Sauce recipe from Just One Cookbook if you want to give it a try!). But since I was using what I had on hand today, I went a different route.
I kept it simple with a drizzle of sriracha mayo, sesame seeds, and sliced green onion, but you could do hoisin sauce, toasted seaweed snacks, a fried egg, bonito flakes, pickled ginger, kimchi, or anything else you like. Honestly, the toppings are where it’s at for this recipe. It’s like pizza (and sometimes called Japanese pizza). The toppings make it fun, unique, and just all around extra special.
So, what do you have in your fridge that you could put in or on a savory cabbage pancake?
Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)
Servings 6 6-inch pancakesIngredients
PANCAKES
- 2 extra large eggs ($0.53)
- 1/2 cup water ($0.00)
- 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.14)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.33)
- 3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.07)
- 4-5 cups shredded green cabbage ($1.78)
- 1 carrot ( $0.11)
- 3 green onions ($0.17)
- 2 Tbsp oil for frying ($0.04)
TOPPINGS
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise ($0.28)
- 2 Tbsp sriracha ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.04)
- 2 green onions ($0.11)
Instructions
- Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Thinly slice or shred half of the cabbage, or until you have 4-5 cups shredded cabbage. Peel the carrot and shred it using a large-holed cheese grater. Slice the green onions.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Begin whisking in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter (about 3/4 to1 cup total flour).
- Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter and stir until the vegetables are mixed and everything is evenly coated in batter.
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture. Press it down into the hot skillet to form a circle, about 6 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Place a cover on the skillet to hold in the steam, which will help the cabbage soften as it cooks. Cook the pancake until golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes), then flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Pile the cooked pancakes on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm until ready to eat. Add more oil to the skillet as needed as you cook the pancakes.
- To prepare the sriracha mayo, mix together 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp sriracha in a small bowl. Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the pancakes just before serving, followed with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced green onion.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Cabbage Pancakes – Step by Step Photos
Begin by shredding the vegetables. You can use a food processor, mandolin, or just a knife. Just remember, the thinner the better. Shred 1/2 of a small head of cabbage (4-5 cups once shredded), 1 carrot (about 1/2 cup), and slice three green onions.
In a large bowl, whisk together 2 extra large eggs, 1/2 cup water, 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil until smooth.
Begin whisking in flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter. You’ll need between 3/4 to 1 cup flour.
Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter, then stir until everything is well mixed and coated in batter.
Since eggs and flour both like to stick to surfaces when cooked, I highly suggest using some sort of non-stick surface in addition to the oil. I used a cast iron skillet. Heat about 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil in the skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place about 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture into the skillet. Press the mixture down to form a 6-inch circle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place a lid on the skillet to hold in the steam (this helps soften the cabbage) and cook until it is golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes). Flip the pancake and cook on the second side until golden brown as well. I could actually fit two pancakes in this skillet, but doing one at a time made for prettier pictures. :P
To make the sriracha mayo, stir together 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 2 Tbsp sriracha.
Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the savory cabbage pancake and then top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and more sliced onion. Dig in!
I’m very interested in this recipe but looking for some protein. When and how much canned salmon would I add?
Depending on how salmon heavy you want to go, add anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of drained canned salmon to the batter. Do it when you add the cabbage etc. Have fun with these! They’re yummy. XOXO -Monti
Easy well written recipe but they were very bland even with siracha mayo. Much better after I added salt and more soy to batter and dipped in some dumpling sauce.
I made a mistake, I was trying to make a half batch, but forgot I was doing that when I was adding the soy sauce and sesame oil and added the full amounts. I added a tiny bit of extra water (<.25 cup) and flour (maybe an extra tbsp) to adjust and they turned out great! Can't compare to the recipe as is unfortunately, but I suspect the normal recipe can probably handle extra soy and sesame.
I have made a few different okonomiyaki recipes. This one is the best. I don’t know if it is anything like original, but I like this version very much.
I made a different sauce, and topped it with the onions, some furekake and some japanese style pink ginger (Lidl).
I might make this again…tomorrow.
I’ve made this recipe many times and love it. I was wondering if anyone has an idea about how to lower the carb content y replacing the flour with something else without sacrificing taste?
I made these w/o the flour and carrot, added just a little bit of ground flax to act as a binder. They were fragile and definitely did not resemble a puffy pancake but they were delicious!
Very very good. I’ve made this 3 times total now but somehow I haven’t been able to replicate the crispy edges as well as I did the first time! Didn’t have sriracha so used mayo & soy sauce – not the best but this pancake screams for a dipping partner.
Haven’t tried freezing but leftovers are okay as long as you reheat in a skillet not the microwave. You’ll get the crispyness back
To be honest this recipe is nothing close to the original Japanese okonomiyaki. It just cabbage pancake. Not bad, but I was expecting more flavor.
We ended up adding more soy spice, cause otherwise they were too bland.
Third time making these. Very tasty
Amazing! I made it with some chopped shrimp so tasty!
I’m a morning person and had some extra cabbage so wanted to try this. The plan is to have them later or even freeze them. My husband was skeptical and I made him taste one at 8:00 am and he said, “that is absolutely amazing!” They are VERY good!!! Thank you! I had 3 heads of extra cabbage from our garden!
Did you end up freezing them? Did it work well? I was hoping to do the same but didn’t know how well it would work. I’d love to hear how it worked for you!
Yummy and easy. Not a fan of toasted sesame oil, so I subbed olive oil. The pancakes released from a regular fry pan fine if the pan and oil were hot when the batter went in. We experimented with toppings and found our favorite is just a sprinkle of salt and some ketchup on the side.
Plan on serving this as a side with beef teriyaki and stir fried pea pods.
So delicious! We love okonomiyaki from our time in Japan and have always been too nervous to try making it. This recipe was easy and I had most of the ingredients at home. Cast iron worked beautifully. 5 stars and will add this to my regular recipe rotation.
These were tasty but took some practice. I used a cast iron and burnt the first few before realizing the lid was making it really hot, so I had to lower the heat more than I’m used to for pan frying.
This fed my boyfriend and I with only one pancake leftover, so I’d add a side dish if making this for more people.
Can these be made with almond flour instead?
I haven’t tried that, but almond flour has very different characteristics than wheat flour, so I wouldn’t expect it to turn out the same.