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!
I loved this recipe! I did add some Kale I had lying around which probably made it less battery like, but it was still tasty.
Woah woah woah! These are amazing! Made them because we had a head of cabbage that was getting old and I didn’t want to waste it. Didn’t quite have everything (subbed white onion for green onion and garlic chili paste in the spicy mayo instead of sriracha) but this was a pretty forgiving recipe. My husband was skeptical and typically hates mayo but ate 2 of these up with the spicy mayo happily. I just reheated one for lunch and it was still terrific. Will be making again and saving for kiddos to eat as they get older. Seems like a good way to sneak in some veggies in a fun way. Thanks again, Beth and team for a great recipe!
You stated not to add the cabbage to the batter, if planning to use the next day, as the salt would pull out the water in the cabbage and make a lumpy mess — but — then said these could be frozen. Won’t the salt still pull out the water from the cabbage resulting in soggy mess?
You’ll want to freeze them after cooking, so they won’t be soggy then.
LOVE THIS! I made it as written the first time, then last night decided to cook it in a waffle iron! I know, this pandemic has made me go a little crazy in the kitchen. Your recipe was a hit both ways!
omg, that is BRILLIANT! Trying it this way next time!
I have wanted to try okonomiyaki for YEARS, and this recipe did not disappoint! So yummy. Thank you!
This was an amazing recipe that turned out just as promised! The advice to put the lid on while cooking was excellent: my cabbage steamed up beautifully, even though it wasn’t as finely shredded as I might have liked. This recipe would be a crowd-pleaser for friends on a weeknight. It cooked up surprisingly fast, and it was easy to flip. I did have to add an extra egg, but the beauty of this recipe is its simplicity and versatility. Thank you. It’s been ages since I have had a cabbage recipe with such “WOW” factor.
Just made these for the first time. Super easy and delicious! Can’t wait to make them again!
THIS WAS SO SIMPLE AND EASY CLEAN-UP!!
I bought a huge bag of cabbage from a restaurant food market. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, it was cheap.
Lucky for me, I found your recipe and made it (times 8). So then, what to do with all the pancakes? The next night I cut them in strips for rice paper spring rolls with avocado, cucumber, cilantro, carrots and peatnuts. Another easy meal!
Oh, and the sauce was fabulous. I made peanut sauce also so we had two dipping sauces. The peanut sauce complimented the spring rolls, but I tell you, your sauce was fabulous and a keeper! Thank you for your efforts on this blog. You are appreciated!
I forgot to rate it! What’s this, 10 stars not an option? Okay then, 5 STARS times 2!
Using leftovers for in rice paper wraps is such a good idea!!
I LOVE this recipe. My 3rd time making these last night and I’m more in love every time. I add some grated garlic and ginger!
Sugoi! I had this last summer from a food truck in Hawaii, and this gets very close. I found mine to be a tad short on batter, but I may have been a tad heavy on cabbage this time around. This dish really is really “whatever you like”. I added sliced prosciutto, surimi crab, and diced up shrimp (salad shrimp would be excellent in this). Next time around I will be increasing the volume of the batter, and ensuring even stirring. Partway through it got a little sparse, but I imagine that’s user error. For the sauce, I used garlic sriracha aioli I had hanging around in the fridge anyway. Excellent.
So why two stars?!
Hi..was just wondering, if one adds a couple of teaspoons of oil to the batter, can one bake this in an oven instead of frying in a pan?
No, unfortunately you need the direct contact with a hot skillet for this one to work correctly.
There’s a couple posts from people who tried baking with successful results (at least those folks were satisfied), but you will need to search the older comments – I think from 2019.
Man, these are incredible. They’re definitely going in our regular rotation of dishes. We stuck an over-easy egg on top along with sriracha mayo and teriyaki, and they were SO good :D Thank you!
We also learned to only make as many as we’re going to eat in one sitting. Then we can refrigerate the batter and fry more up fresh the next day!
Can you make this with red cabbage instead of green cabbage?
It will definitely make it a funky color. Hahah. But if you don’t care about that it may be okay. I do find that red cabbage has a stronger flavor than green, so it may make the overall flavor a bit different as well.
Can I prepare the batter mix and then try a few hours later
I think your best bet would be to prepare the batter, but not combine it with the vegetables until just before cooking. Otherwise the salt in the batter will pull water from the vegetables and you’ll get a sort of soupy, limp mess. :)
This is getting us through lockdown, thank you! I’ve wanted something like okonomiyaki, but with a more western-friendly list of ingredients. Great for using up odds and ends of vegetables, I’ve put broccoli and spinach in it too. I didn’t have time to make separate pancakes so I cooked it all together in a gigantic, well oiled cast iron skillet (which makes it hard to flip over, so not a highly recommended method, but it’s mine dang it). Served with mayo, sriracha, scallions, and some homemade tsukemono. Lovely recipe!
What a good idea to make one big pancake.
Just made these! They’re fantastic! I live alone and made quite a few. Would these be ok to freeze?
Yes I would layer them between wax or parchment so just they won’t stick together.
These look great. I’m going to try with “JUST egg” plant based eggs (taste and cook exactly like regular egg) to make it vegan. Do you think I could cook ahead of time and bake to heat up the next day for a party?
Yes I think they’d be fine if you made them ahead of time.