Okonomiyaki with sticky soy pork belly
The best pancake ever.
- 40 mins preparation
- 4 hrs cooking plus resting
- Serves 4
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Ingredients
- 450 gm (3 cups) plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 Chinese cabbage leaves, coarsely torn
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve
- 1 small sebago potato, coarsely grated
- 2 tbsp finely chopped pickled ginger, plus extra to serve
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- To serve: Japanese mayonnaise, togarashi (see note) and roasted sesame seeds
Sticky soy pork belly
- 1 kg piece boneless pork belly
- 375 ml chicken stock (1½ cups)
- 125 ml soy sauce (½ cup)
- 90 gm honey (¼ cup)
- 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
- Thinly peeled rind and juice of 1 orange
Method
- 1For sticky soy pork belly, preheat oven to 160C. Place pork in a roasting pan large enough to fit pork snugly. Stir remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat until combined and bring to the boil. Pour stock over pork, cover with foil and braise in oven until very tender (2-2½ hours). Remove pork from braising liquid, cut into chunks and set aside. Simmer half the braising liquid (discard remainder) over medium-high heat until reduced to a glaze (10-15 minutes), then add pork and set aside.
- 2Combine flour, baking powder and 2 tsp sea salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre, add eggs and gradually add 500ml cold water, stirring until smooth and combined. Stir in cabbage, onion, potato and pickled ginger and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- 3Heat one-quarter of the vegetable oil in a 15cm-diameter non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add one-quarter of the pancake batter, spreading evenly in pan, and cook until golden on the base and beginning to set on the surface (6-8 minutes). Turn and cook until cooked through (6-8 minutes), then transfer to an oven tray and keep warm while you repeat with remaining oil and pancake batter. Top hot okonomiyaki with sticky soy pork belly, spring onion and pickled ginger, and drizzle with glaze. Serve Japanese mayonnaise, togarashi and roasted sesame seeds separately to add according to taste.
Notes
Togarashi is sansho pepper seasoning available from Japanese grocers.Drink Suggestion: Rich yamahai or kimoto sake. Drink suggestion by Max Allen