“It’s the size of a bowling ball!” my mother exclaimed, holding a head of cabbage before me. She’s joined a CSA for the first time, which I’m sensing is a little overwhelming.
These feelings — What is a kohlrabi?! What do I do with 4 beets?! Cabbages to feed the village! — are natural, but lucky for her, there exists a little something called okonomiyaki, Japanese cabbage pancakes, which can be made in countless ways: okonomiyaki essentially means prepared “as you like.”
I first made this okonomiyaki recipe from Food52 last summer, and I’ve made many variations since. Below is the simplest version I’ve made yet (and maybe my favorite), but know that you can add to it “as you like” with shrimp or chicken, sesame seeds or bonito flakes, other vegetables, etc. I prefer a soy-based dipping sauce to the more traditional mayonnaise-based, and, like the corn fritters , find these as irresistible freshly fried as cold straight from the fridge.
Have a wonderful weekend, Everyone.
PS: More cabbage recipes here.
Description
Adapted from Food52 , these pancakes are simple to throw together and make delicious use of an abundance of cabbage. I use 4 times the amount of cabbage called for in the original recipe (8 cups as opposed to 2), and I omit the shrimp, though I imagine the addition of shrimp would be very tasty.
I like to serve these with a soy dipping sauce (as opposed to a mayonnaise-based one). The one below is one I’ve been using for years, but feel free to use your own.
For the pancakes:
- 5 eggs
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1/3 cup flour
- 8 cups finely shredded cabbage
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped, to yield about a heaping cup
For the soy dipping sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce or Sriracha, optional
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Grapeseed or other neutral oil for frying
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt. Gradually add the flour until incorporated. Fold in cabbage and scallions.
- Make the sauce: combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, warm a couple tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until glistening. Pinch batter with hands and carefully drop the mounds into the oil—in a large skillet, you should be able to fry 4 at a time. Lower the heat to medium. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and season lightly with salt. Serve with soy-dipping sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Description
Adapted from Food52 , these pancakes are simple to throw together and make delicious use of an abundance of cabbage. I use 4 times the amount of cabbage called for in the original recipe (8 cups as opposed to 2), and I omit the shrimp, though I imagine the addition of shrimp would be very tasty.
I like to serve these with a soy dipping sauce (as opposed to a mayonnaise-based one). The one below is one I’ve been using for years, but feel free to use your own.
For the pancakes:
- 5 eggs
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1/3 cup flour
- 8 cups finely shredded cabbage
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped, to yield about a heaping cup
For the soy dipping sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce or Sriracha, optional
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Grapeseed or other neutral oil for frying
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt. Gradually add the flour until incorporated. Fold in cabbage and scallions.
- Make the sauce: combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, warm a couple tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until glistening. Pinch batter with hands and carefully drop the mounds into the oil—in a large skillet, you should be able to fry 4 at a time. Lower the heat to medium. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and season lightly with salt. Serve with soy-dipping sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2016/07/22/okonamiyaki-cabbage-pancakes/
I just returned from CT, where I spent a week at my parents’ house with the kids: mine, my sister’s, a neighborhood girl … I think that’s it. The children (some of them at least) spent their mornings at Lego camp, afternoons in the pool, and evenings on the porch eating BLTs, Greek salad , and my mother’s homemade vanilla ice cream, which is so, so good — she’s been using Julia Moskin’s recipe: Easiest Vanilla Ice Cream .
Two nights in a row, too, we ate this zucchini and corn pasta, a recipe adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables combined with a technique featured in the RSVP section of the January Bon Appetit , which calls for toasting cooked orecchiette in a hot skillet in a little bit of olive oil. It’s a simple step, but one that provides the dish with a little more texture, color, and flavor.
Hope your week is off to a good start!
PS: More corn and zucchini recipes here .
My mother’s BLTs:
Description
Adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables, this squash and corn pasta recipe is a summer favorite. I’ve altered it very slightly, using crème fraîche in place of butter and basil in place of the cilantro, and omitting the jalapeño. I’ve also been making it with orecchiette, which I toast in olive oil, a trick I read about in a recent Bon Appétit , which creates crispy, golden edges. This step is optional, but it adds nice texture and color and is just kind of fun. The key with this recipe is to cook the vegetables for no more than 3 minutes or they turn to mush by the end. Toasted pine nuts would be a nice addition here.
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 12 ounces orecchiette
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 4 to 5 small zucchini, small diced to yield 4 cups
- 2 ears of corn, shucked, kernels removed
- 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 1/4 cup crème fraiche
- 1/2 cup basil, finely sliced
- Freshly cracked pepper to taste
- Lemon for serving, optional
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Cook pasta al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid (or even more if you want some on hand for reheating), drain pasta, transfer it to a large bowl, and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- Meanwhile, place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. When it shimmers, add the zucchini, corn, and garlic. Immediately reduce the heat to medium, season lightly with salt, and cook for 2 minutes undisturbed. Stir, and cook for one minute more, then transfer to a large serving bowl—zucchini may taste underdone, but it will continue to cook as it sits.
- Add 2 more tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan. When it shimmers, add the pasta and let it cook undisturbed for 1 minute. Stir, and let it cook for another minute. The edges should be starting to brown. Repeat this process for 2 more minutes, or until the pasta is browned to your liking, then transfer it to the bowl with the vegetables. Add the reserved pasta cooking liquid and the crème fraiche to the sauté pan and stir until emulsified, then transfer to the bowl of pasta. Add the basil, and toss everything together. Taste. Season with pepper to taste and more salt if necessary.
- Serve pasta with lemon wedges on the side, if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
