“One of my favourite ways of using up leftover slaw mix is to fry it up into an okonomiyaki – essentially a Japanese rosti,” says Alice Zaslavsky. “The batter is really ‘as you please’ – which is what its name translates to as well. It can be cooked as one big pancake, or as smaller latkes/fritters. You can add more protein to the batter, in the form of chopped-up firm tofu, last night’s roast, or quick-cook seafood like prawns, squid or firm-fleshed fish; just reduce the amount of cabbage by the same weight. To keep it fully planty, swap the oyster sauce in the okonomi sauce for mushroom sauce, and use a miso soup sans bonito flakes. Speaking of, sprinkling this pancake with bonito flakes as a dancing garnish does take it to the next level texturally.”
Ingredients
Serves → 4–6
Chop + stir → 20 minutes
Set + forget → 35 minutes
- ¼ cup (40 g) sesame seeds
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil, for shallow frying
Batter
- 450 g (1 lb) coleslaw mix (or grate 2 carrots + ¼ small cabbage)
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced, including the green tops
- 1 cup (150 g) self-raising flour
- 50 g (1¾ oz) rice flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (250 ml) instant miso soup
- ½ teaspoon salt flakes
MYO okonomi sauce - ¼ cup (60 ml) tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Home stretch - Japanese mayonnaise
- Spring onion greens (reserved from the batter)
- Bonito flakes (optional)
- Pickled ginger (optional)
- Furikake and/or toasted seaweed snack sheets, cut into strips (optional but excellent)
Batter believe it → Dump the slaw into a large bowl. Add most of the spring onion, reserving some green tops for garnishing. Toss well with your hands to distribute the mix. Sprinkle in the flours and toss about again, making sure all the veg is coated. In a smallish bowl, whisk together the eggs, miso soup and salt flakes until combined. Pour it over the slaw mix and fold with a flexible spatula until there are no clumps of dry flour left. Let the batter rest in the fridge for 15 minutes (set a timer).
Saucy wonder → While the batter is chilling, combine the okonomi sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring regularly until the sugar dissolves. Taste and season to your liking, then set aside.
Seedy interlude → With 10 minutes left on the batter timer, scatter the sesame seeds in a cold 26–28 cm heavy-based frying pan. Place over medium–high heat and set the timer for 8 minutes, tossing the seeds occasionally until most are golden. Tip into a bowl.
Fry time → Place the pan back over medium heat and pour in enough oil to generously cover the base. Bring the oil to a shimmer. Give one last fold to the slaw batter, then pour it into the hot oil, spreading it out to the edges in a thickish round disc. Leave for 15 minutes, until golden underneath and mostly cooked through. Drain the excess oil from the edge of the pan into a bowl (you’ll use it again soon). Slip a plate on top of the pancake and carefully flip it onto the plate. Pour the excess oil back into the pan, then slip the pancake into the pan and cook for another 5 minutes to finish it off.
Bring it home → Slip the pancake onto a serving platter and give it a good crack of black pepper. Spread the okonomi sauce all over the top. Drizzle a thin but generous zig-zag pattern of mayo over the sauce, running a skewer or the tines of a fork through to make a feather pattern. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds, reserved spring onion greens and your chosen garnishes. Serve immediately, cut into wedges
Double duty → The pancake can be eaten cold the next day, and it makes a great lunchbox treat too.
Images and text from Weeknights with Alice by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Rochelle Eagle. Murdoch Books RRP $45.00. Weeknights with Alice is out now and available at excellent independent Victorian bookstores such as Readings and Hill of Content.