Updated December 1, 2023

Are you looking for a fun and interactive meal? Okonomiyaki is the ticket. I love Okonomiyaki (Okonomi-yaki). It is a Japanese savoury pancake that you can get in restaurants or food stands during festivals, and is also eaten at home. The basic recipe is flour (gluten-free for us celiacs and gluten intolerants), water, egg and thinly sliced cabbage. You can then go to town and add any ingredients you like. Popular additions are pork, bacon, shrimp, squid, octopus, chicken, sausages, and any vegetable that is thinly slice. I recommend cooking the meat or fish and thinly slicing the vegetables because the pancake cooks quickly on the hot plate and I want to make sure the ingredients are cooked too.

Basically you can add any ingredient you enjoy. You can also just make a basic batter of gluten-free flour, egg, water and cabbage in a big bowl and put it on the table next to the hot pot with many small bowls of the different ingredients. Give your family/guests small bowls to mix their own pancake in choosing ingredients of their choice and then each person can cook their own okonomiyaki on the hot plate. Some of my family love a curry flavoured okonomiyaki, so they add a bit of curry powder to their batter only.

Cook the cut bacon and drain.

Finely slice the cabbage.

Mix the batter ingredients.

Add the cabbage, bacon and any other ingredients you like.

I like to add sweet corn. I either use canned corn (drained) or frozen corn that I have thawed in the microwave. I use about 1/2 cup but you can add more or less.

My family likes carrots in their okonomiyaki. I don't think that this is a traditional ingredients, but we enjoy the extra veggies and taste. Here I have used some leftover cooked carrots, but I often will use finely shredded raw carrot too.

You can add other vegetables such as thinly sliced mushrooms, shredded zucchini, bean sprouts, or thinly sliced green (spring) onions.

An optional flavouring is the curry powder. I use S & B's Oriental Curry Powder. Sometimes we just add 1/2 or 1 teaspoon to our individual batter bowls which contain about a cup of batter. If everyone is wanting the curry flavour than I add it to the main batter bowl.

Heat up the hot plate and brush with some oil.

Pour about a 1/4 of the batter on to the hot plate in a circle shape, just like making pancakes. Cover and cook both sides on medium heat.

Gluten-Free Okonomiyaki Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely sliced cabbage
• 150 grams cooked bacon or sliced pork
• 2 eggs (3 if small)
• 1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup of corn (optional)
• 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots (optional)
• pinch of salt and pepper
• Optional seasoning is curry powder. About 2 teaspoons, depends on your taste. This can also be added to individual bowls of batter.

Toppings to put on after Okonomiyaki is cooked

• Okonomiyaki Sauce (For recipe click here)
• Mayonnaise (Ideally a gluten-free Japanese Mayonnaise)
• Ketchup
• Bonito flakes (dried fish flakes)
• Powdered Ao-nori (powdered green laver/seaweed)
• Chopped red pickled ginger

Directions

1. Cut the pork or bacon into bite-size pieces and cook in a frying pan. Drain fat and put aside.
2. Wash and thinly slice the cabbage.
3. In a large bowl add the gluten-free flour, eggs, water, salt and pepper. Mix well.
4. Add the cabbage, bacon, corn and carrots. Mix well.
5. Here you can add the optional curry powder if you like or you can have small bowls next to each person and they can add curry powder to their batter if they like. Usually about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of curry powder per cup of batter.
6. Heat a hot plate and oil it. If you don't have a hot plate you can use a non-stick frying pan. Pour about 1/4 of the mixture into a round shape on to the hot plate. Flatten slightly and cover with a lid. Have the heat on medium to low. Bake the savoury pancake on both sides until lightly brown.
7. Serve each okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) on a plate and let people add the toppings of their choice. Usually the okonomiyaki sauce, then mayonnaise, ketchup, ao-nori, bonito flakes and a tiny bit of pickled ginger on top. Best eaten hot. Enjoy!

If you don't have time to make my Homemade Okonomiyaki Sauce, then you can make this quick version below. I sometimes make this one when I only want enough for today's meal or I'm in a rush and don't have any on hand in the fridge.

It is so simple, just uses the ingredients in the photo above!

Quick and Simple Gluten-Free Okonomiyaki Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon Gluten-Free Worcestershire Sauce

Directions

1. Mix together. Adjust amounts to your taste.

After the okonomiyaki is finished cooking each person adds the sauces and toppings they enjoy and eat. ^_^

As of late 2023 it looks like Kewpie has changed their ingredients. I can no longer find Kewpie with the ingredients like the product above. The new bottle (see photo below) now has barley on it. Looks like they are using malt vinegar made from barley in the ingredients list, so be careful. Looks like Kewpie is no longer gluten-free in Canada.

Our favourite mayonnaise was Kewpie. The one sold in Canada is used to be gluten-free, but now the ingredients list has changed and it is no longer gluten-free. The Kewpie mayonnaise sold in Canada has malt barley in it! I'm not certain about the one sold in Japan. I'd advise contacting the company for the Kewpie sold in Japan. I've heard that they may use malt vinegar. Unfortunately, barley is not one of the top allergens in Japan, so they don't have to mention it on the product ingredients list. Note: As of the end of 2023 the one sold in Canada is no longer safe for celiac's. The ingredients list now has BROW ingredients are listed. BROW stands for Barley, Rye, Oats, and Wheat. They now list barley as an ingredient in the Kewpie mayonnaise not labelled gluten-free in Canada. I heard that there is a gluten-free version that is labelled in the USA, but I have not seen it in the stores near me. I did see it on amazon.ca but it was expensive. Here is a link to the Kewpie Mayonnaise Website if you are interested.

I have found a Japanese Mayonnaise that is labelled gluten-free. It is the Shirakiku brand. I found it at my local asian grocery store, so I'm assuming you can find it in a big city like Calgary too. Tastes very similar to Kewpie brand. It states that it is "gluten-free" and the ingredients list is safe.

There are two basic versions of okonomiyaki in Japan, and then different regions, areas or families will have their own take on each one. The Kansai (Osaka) version which is what my recipe is based on and the Hiroshima version. The Hiroshima okonomiyaki is more like a thin crepe with the cabbage and pork layered on top along with yakisoba like noodles and sometimes a fried egg. Both are tasty, but I prefer the Kansai type where all the ingredients are mixed into the batter, because that is the one I first tried and the one my Japanese husband's family enjoys.

Which do you prefer? Have you tried okonomiyaki? What are your favourite ingredients and toppings?

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns. Not sponsored. If sponsored I will always say so at the top of the post.