Try the Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki & change your loyalty if you are a cabbage avoid-er :)

I personally feel cabbage has a very unfair reputation in the food world - most people either find it bland or they don't like the taste of it , because it has been badly cooked . While preparing this , I for a sparing minute, zoned back into our travel tales in Hiroshima , when my food-obsessed better half made me walk close to five long kilometres to check box this 'must-eat' at ' this ' particular place in the city. At that point , i am glad i obliged ( as his food picks , are always bang on ) and boy , was it a fabulous experience - both in matters of the taste and the live demonstration the chef's showcased , in true teppanyaki style .

This dish calls for quite a generous portion of cabbage , along with some other elements which elevate , an otherwise simple savory pancake to a fully loaded weekday meal . Also , just like any other pancake , this is super easy to make and needs very little effort . However , if you refer any Japanese cook book / blog , it would share that there are some key mandatory ingredients to make the perfect Okonomiyaki - like the mountain yam , tenkasu

( or tempura bits/scraps) and dashi stock . However , since all of these ingredients are difficult to find outside Japan , I made mine without any of these and am super happy to share that the outcome was equally good . Simply put , i have proofed this recipe for you to try in your home kitchen .

This okonomiyaki recipe proves that weeknight dinners don't have to be boring! It cooks in a flash, and it's healthy, delicious, and super fun to make .

The word "okonomiyaki" is taken from the Japanese word "okonomi" which means "as you like" and "yaki" meaning "grilled'' . True to its name , you can therefore conclude that this pancake can be made, with any topping combination that you like - ranging from chicken / calamari / shrimp / cheese / beansprout / mushroom / potato chips or anything else that catches your fancy . There is also a lot of discussion around if the Hiroshima-style Oko is better than its Osaka cousin. Well , having tasted both , I can say that both use almost the same ingredients, but in Hiroshima , the pancakes are layered rather than mixed in the batter . I made mine layered Hiroshima style with layers of seafood , noodles and eggs and needless to mention , lots and lots of cabbage. Let me take you through this :

Things you will need :

• 1/2 cup flour

• 01 tsp baking powder

• Water ( I used water for the batter , instead of dashi stock )

• 1/2 cabbage head - finely shredded

• 01 small bell pepper - finely chopped

• 1/2 cup of whole prawns - saute' d and seasoned

• 01 fried egg ( 01 per Oko )

• 01 packet instant noodles , boiled al - dente and seasoned

• Vegetable oil to fry the pancake

• Salt and sugar to taste

• Mayonnaise for the topping

• Green onions - finely chopped for the topping

• For the quick my-style okonomiyaki sauce : Combine 04 tbsp BBQ sauce + 04 tbsp ketchup + 02 tbsp soya sauce.

Steps to follow :

• In a large bowl , combine the flour, salt & baking powder and mix everything together along with some water , to form a smooth pancake like batter.

• In a flat pan , pour a ladle full of the batter ( as you would do for a pan cake ) and layer all the toppings like the cabbage , bell pepper , noodles , prawns and the fried egg -

• Seasoned everything well with salt and pepper .

• Keep the pancake on low heat for 10 -15 mins , allowing everything to cook through .

• Next , baste your pancake toppings liberally with the oko sauce.

• Now , using two spatula's flip the entire pancake over - tuck all the toppings in and allow the toppings to brown - cook on sim for another 10 mins.

• Once done , flip the pancake onto a plate - baste with more sauce & top liberally with mayo and finely chopped green onion and chillies.

• Enjoy - let me know if you have changed your mind about eating cabbage :)

Pro- Tip : You can use thinly sliced pork belly / chicken or any other meat of your choice as a topping - for the vegetarian option , use mushrooms as they go best with the Oko Sauce.