
Well I was, and that’s because what you see above is the real thing: that my wife, son and friend made at our table in Tokyo!

More on that later, but first, what is “Okonomiyaki?” Here’s how wikipedia describes it:
“Okonomiyaki is a Japanese teppanyaki, savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a teppan. Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include okonomiyaki sauce, aonori, katsuobushi, Japanese mayonnaise, and pickled ginger.”
I will take you to the Tokyo restaurant where we made our “Okonomiyaki” in a minute, but first: I got to do it again – at home!
You see, imagine how happy I was when I went into a Japanese grocery store in West Los Angeles and saw this:

Yes, they sell Okonomiyaki kits in the store, so I had to grab a box and make some of this delicious dish at home!
Luckily, I had a bit of leftover steak and some garlic as well to offer a tasty addition to the dish – because this pancake is ready for anything you want to add to it!

I sliced my garlic and steak and cooked them together in a frying pan with some sesame oil:

he kit contains the batter mix, and you just add two eggs and a cup of water and mix it all together:

Once the garlic and steak were ready, it was time to add the batter to the pan and start the process of making the pancake:
I let it cook for about 5 minutes before it was time to flip it over…of course the goal is to have it maintain it’s perfect oval shape but that doesn’t always happen as you will see:
After you plate the pancake, it’s time to be creative with. your sauces!

I liberally sauced the Okonomiyaki pancake with Sriracha Mayo and some Japanese Kewpie Mayo, and I also added the sauce that came in the kit – the end result was delicious!

This savory pancake is delicious, and fun to make as well…you can decorate with anything you want, and I made it again using carrots, onion and diced broccoli as well…it’s gallup to you!
I love Asian flavors of all kinds, and when I was doing my “52 In 22” cooking challenge, I did an entire menu of Japanese pub food!

There was a LOT going on here – click on my story to see all of the recipes!
When my wife Alex, son Jeff and I were in Tokyo we ate all kinds of wild food, like sushi for breakfast!
Take a look at our view!

The sushi bars surrounding Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish Market serve sushi beginning at 6a – the market is a must-see for everyone going to Tokyo – it moved a bit further away from the city center – but it still exists so go see it!
Here is an inside look at the iconic market that was:
A bit more food and fun from Tokyo, you see my son befriends a Musician who worked in a bar and he played an original song for us!
This “Golden Gai” entertainment area is so much fun – see why by clicking on my story here!
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This looks very nice, John. I didn’t see these when I was in Tokyo.
So much to see and do there Robbie that’s why we can’t wait to go back!
Love okonomiyaki! It’s on our to-cook-list, thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks for commenting, always great to hear from you!
Looking on with a big smile – have been making this for over half a century in many variations – TASTY . . . oops, I do confess to rather a lot, don’t I 🙂 !
oh, I’d love to try this!
I love pancakes, so would be up for eating that. Perhaps calm down the amount of mayo for me though. 😉
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes Pete – that’s what is great about these – you add on what you want but the basic pancake is protein and vegetable!
I think it looks great! Julia would have topped it with cheese, popped it under the broiler, and said “what happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen!”
HA! I love that and so so true! Thanks for sharing that!
It was fresh in my mind from one of her first public tv episodes. They used to do the whole filming in one take, no second chances, so she had to improvise a lot.
I love that!