Osaka Prawn and Cabbage Pancakes

I often order these savoury pancakes at Japanese restaurants (they’re sometimes called Japanese pizza or okonomiyaki, which means "grilled how you like it") but they’re easy to make at home too. For a vegetarian version use vegetable stock and leave out the prawns. For a more substantial version add a handful of cooked noodles to the batter.

Annabel Langbein Media

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Osaka Prawn and Cabbage Pancakes
2 cups rice flour
2 tsp chicken stock powder or dashi stock powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda, crushed to remove any lumps
5 eggs
2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
½-1 tsp chilli flakes, to taste
1¼ cups water
6 tightly packed cups (350g) finely chopped cabbage
1 cup coarsely grated kumara or carrot
300g chopped raw prawn meat
neutral oil, to cook
To serve 
hoisin sauce
japanese mayonnaise
2 spring onions, curled (see below)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage

© Annabel Langbein Media 
https://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/osaka-prawn-and-cabbage-pancakes/3375/

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Prep time:: 25 mins
Cook time:: 40 mins
Makes:: 10 pancakes

2 cups rice flour
2 tsp chicken stock powder or dashi stock powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda, crushed to remove any lumps
5 eggs
2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
½-1 tsp chilli flakes, to taste
1¼ cups water
6 tightly packed cups (350g) finely chopped cabbage
1 cup coarsely grated kumara or carrot
300g chopped raw prawn meat
neutral oil, to cook

To serve

hoisin sauce
japanese mayonnaise
2 spring onions, curled (see below)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage

Combine rice flour, stock powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Add eggs, ginger, sesame oil, chilli flakes and water and mix until smooth. Mix in cabbage, kumara or carrot and prawns. There will be just enough batter to hold the vegetable filling together.

Heat about 1 tsp oil in a large, heavybased frypan over a medium heat and tip ½ cup of batter into the pan, pressing out to form into a thick pancake about 12-15cm diameter. Cook over a medium-low heat until filling is set and pancakes are golden (2-3 minutes each side). Stack on a plate in a warm oven while you cook the remaining pancakes.

To serve, squiggle about ½ tsp hoisin sauce and 1 tsp mayonnaise over each pancake and top with spring onion curls, carrot and cabbage.

TIPS
To save time use two pans to cook the pancakes.

To make spring onion curls, cut spring onions lengthways into very thin strips, using both the white and the green. Place in a bowl, cover with water and a handful of ice cubes. In a few minutes the slices will have curled up. Drain and use as a garnish.