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.
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!
Hi Beth! I made this tonight for dinner and found it more doughy than I’d like. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but added a little more than 1 cup of flour as the dough seemed pretty watery after adding 1 cup of flour. Could that have been the problem? I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong. Thanks in advance for your input.
-fay
Yes, I’d try using less flour next time. :) I’ve also seen several recipes for okonomiyaki that are more eggy than floury. You might like a version like that instead. I think it’s just personal preference as most of the recipes I checked out were either one way or the other.
Very easy to make, with exception of chopping the cabbage.
Turned out to be very tasty, and my wife, whom otherwise is quite picky, liked them a lot!
Try a large hole cheese grater.
That is such a smart idea. Thank you. I’ll be doing that tomorrow.
I love you. Thank you for this recipe. This changes everything for my weekly menu. Haha!
These look SO good! I always hated cabbage as a kid so I’ve never really given it a chance as an adult, but I just got back from a trip to Austria where we picked things off the menu without a clue what they were, and ended up with something called krautfleckrl — it didn’t look like much, but it was so irresistible. Have you ever heard of it? It’s basically just cabbage, onion, garlic, egg noodles, and tiny bits of bacon. Totally budget-friendly, and I can’t wait to try some recipes home!
I’ve seen recipes like that, but never heard of that name. I guess people just give it a name to go with whatever language they speak. :) I definitely want to make that soon!
This sounds so good. I love that it uses leftovers, and ingredients that I often have. Your site has the best budget meals EVER!
I’m SO excited!! I just had Okonomiyaki for the first time ever while in Tokyo and have been raving about it since. What a nice surprise to see it featured on your blog.
I like it!
We could not wait to made this dish. We were able to buy a massive savoy cabbage for $3.25, which will do my family of 3 for at least four meals, and kept the cost to a minimum.
Delicious! Absolutely foolproof recipe, and so very inexpensive to make. We will be adding this to our weekly dinner menu. We may add a touch of ground meat or different vegetables on occasion to change things up from week to week, and are looking forward to playing with it.
Thank you for posting this!
So, I looked up how to make this Okonomiyaki sauce everyone’s talking about and authentic or not, I found a basic one with ketchup, soy, and Worcestershire sauce. I have been looking for a reason to buy a bottle of veg-style Worcestershire (it shows up in unsuspecting recipes I’ve found.) Plus, I was getting cabbage for other things this week anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this dish and I’m excited by everyone’s enthusiasm! Thanks to everyone!
I used to live in Japan and, as others, and you, have pointed out this isn’t a super authentic recipe. I like the pancake part but the toppings are way off. It IS much better if you top okonomiyaki with both mayo and okonomiyaki sauce. Tonkatsu or teriyaki sauce would both be very similar to okonomiyaki sauce as well. In the okonomiyaki restaurants, they generally add some protein on top. I frequently had mine topped with potatoes, cheese and bacon. My friend usually had hers topped with noodles and seafood. This recipe is fine, but I think people would really be wow-ed by topping these with both the mayo and brown sauce, plus some protein.
You have great timing! I have a leftover 1/2 head of cabbage to use up and these will be perfect. Can’t wait to try them!
BRILLIANT–we loved it! Kind of like that Egg Foo Yung I remember from Chinese restaurants when I was a child–but way better (didn’t miss the soy sauce and cornstarch gravy that one came with). I’m sort of the queen of recipe alterations, but didn’t change a thing. A very inexpensive and delicious supper, maybe something to add to the Snap repertoire–are you doing that challenge again?
I don’t think I’ll be able to do the challenge this year. I accidentally scheduled my vacation in September and I have a business trip at the end of the month. :( I’d move it to another month, but the last few months of the year have so many issues with holidays and that’s busy for the food business.
This is great, Beth! We are planning to cook outside this weekend on a Coleman stove. I think these will be fun to make on our cast iron double griddle. Yum! Thanks for the idea!
I just made the other cabbage recipe last night and was wondering what to do with the leftover half cabbage. This sounds amazing. Btw that cabbage stir fry IS crack…
I love Okonomiyaki! It’s my favorite and this is an interesting variation!
I like to use a variation on https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/comments/44k8jk/share_your_recipes_involving_cabbage/czr5azx?context=3
Yours looks awesome and delicious, but I don’t know about the fact that you’ve skipped the Okonomi sauce entirely?! Some Okonomi Sauce and Kewpie Mayo are just so imporant to making Okonomiyaki what it is!
I just made sriracha mayo because it was easier. :) I don’t often stay super “traditional” with my recipes. I aim for what works with what I have on hand.