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!
Perfect recipe for using leftover cabbage from Eggroll bowls… Tastes like Japanese Hibachi!
Guys, guys, guys…this recipe is AWESOME! I have something like this before, but it took a lot of preparation, but this one– it was so good. Just follow the recipe and I wasn’t even that exact. Also, this can be quite healthy if you change the sauce and make it wheat flour. Dont waste your sodium intake for the day on actually fully seasoning the okanomiyaki (like I did), just make the sauce super flavorful.
I made this tonight for dinner and oh my God, they were So Good!!! I sort of want to run out and buy more cabbage!
Thanks for this delicious recipe!
If you want to keep pancakes warm, an easy method that doesn’t involve messing with foil, is to put on a pan with water, heat that, put a plate on top of that (bottom down). Put the pancakes on the plate, and use another plate upside down to cover.
Use the top plate to eat, since it’ll be preheated!
Hey Beth. I tried making this recipe, but the pancakes weren’t cooking evenly at all- parts would be burning while other parts weren’t even started browning. I don’t know if it wasn’t evenly heating or what, but it just wasn’t working for me. Did I use too much cabbage compared to the batter? Or do you have any other ideas for what the problem could have been?
Hmm, that’s tough to answer without having been there while it was in action. I would say to make sure that your cabbage is finely shredded so that it cooks quickly, make sure you’re not using a very thin bottomed skillet (those can have hot spots and cold spots), and perhaps turn the heat down a little so that they have time to heat through before burning on the exterior?
I love love LOVE this recipe! I made it as written (except I had to use wheat flour) then, as some commenters suggested, made a quick okonomiyaki sauce. We had half topped with shrimp and half topped with bacon. Authentic or no, this was delicious, and so inexpensive and filling! I’m making this for the second time today.
OMG this is sooooooo good!!! And really easy. I added some soy meat crumbles to increase the protein and make it more of a full meal. The first few I made a little to spread out and thin, so they broke apart (still tasty). Make sure you make them a little thicker than you’d first think. Another great recipe!
I just wanted to say I made these and the came out great
I have tried lots of reciepes that call for pan frying and they never work for me I’m not patient enough or they taste oily fall apart ect so I was reluctant to make this. Today I came across my recipe for waffle hash browns and thought these pancake would work the same and they did now ican just pop them in the toaster to reheat and get that crispy texture back
So Thanks for a new way to use cabbage the not filled with cheese and bacon
I finally made this and it was so, so tasty! I think next time, I will chop the cabbage a bit finer, but otherwise, it was perfect! I made a homemade okonomiyaki sauce and topped the pancakes with cheese, bacon, potatoes, regular mayo and okonomiyaki sauce, just like I used to get in Kyoto! My partner was crazy about them and wants them for his birthday dinner!
is there a good gluten free substitute for the flour? thanks
I’ve seen other versions that are more eggy and don’t use flour at all. So you can do it kind of like a cabbage omelet (more eggs, no flour).
Susan, I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking mix and they turned out great!
I am SO GLAD you posted this recipe. My husband and I have already made it twice and we are OBSESSED! It is so good and also such a great way to use extra cabbage up. Brilliant!
I LOVE these. Never been a fan of cabbage, but these are awesome. I also don’t love scallion pancakes that you can order in many Chinese restaurants…I think because they’re somewhat sweet. These are 100% savory. The toasted sesame oil REALLY makes the difference, so make sure you have it.
I don’t have a high spicy tolerance, so I used about 1/3-1/2 the Sriracha in the mayo. Still a little spicy, but tolerable :)
Forgot to add–I use 4 cups from a bag of coleslaw mix (green cabbage + carrots). Probably a bit pricier than shredding my own, but very easy.
Did I miss the nutritional info? Can someone post that? Thanks!
These sound divine! I use a recipe called “cabbage shnitzel” which uses lots of egg and a little flour and to I pre-steam and drain the cabbage to make it a bit softer in the finished product. Very similar to this but without the asian flavors, they are amazing hot with sour cream and even cold and plain, they are amazing! I love most of your recipes and your fun and easy to navigate site! Thinking of buying your book for my 9 year old son for his birthday. Have a great day today!
Could I use regular sesame oil in place of toasted?
Toasted sesame oil has a much stronger nutty flavor. If you use regular it will be more bland.