Yoko-Ono-Yaki

We used to have a wonderful restaurant in Overland Park called One Bite that introduced us to the Okonomi-Yaki, a Japanese savory pancake/omelet dish that we love. One Bite has a few variations, including the Cheese Bomb Yaki that was super tasty! Unfortunately, One Bite is closing it’s doors!   They promised to return in 2012 in the form of a new restaurant in Kansas City’s Westport area (One Bite Sama Zama?!?), but in the mean time I decided had to try to recreate a yaki of my very own. This dish was based off of JustHungry‘s Okonomiyaki, Osaka style.  When I began, I was planning on following the recipe, but by the time I was done gathering ingredients, I had Americanized it, or rather Mullieized it.  I decided that it probably isn’t a traditional Okonomiyaki, so this is my Yoko-Ono-Yaki, because Yoko Ono is sorta Asian like this dish.

Ingredients:

  • ~4in taro root
  • 1/4 cup dashi stock
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 slices bacon
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
  • 2-3 green onions, chopped
  • Aonori
  • Bonito flakes
  • Bull Dog Sauce
  • Siracha Mayo
  • 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Peel and finely grate the taro root.   Apparently some people have allergic reactions to taro, so you probably shouldn’t rub it into your eyes or anything, then again, I am not a doctor.  Put the taro into a large bowl then add the dashi stock, flour and eggs and lightly mix.   Stir in the cabbage, corn, green onions, then salt and pepper to taste.
Now we have the basicyaki  batter and we are ready to cook.    This recipe makes two single serving yakis so you’ll need to either cook them in shifts or, if possible, use two like sized skillets so you can cook them both at the same time and serve them fresh.
Resist the urge to make one giant yaki.  I made my first one too large and was unable to survive the first flip attempt, ultimately causing great frustration.
Heat up the 2 skillets over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil to both.   Add half the batter to each pan and top with 3 slices of bacon .  Cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the underside is brown and crispy enough to support the flip, then flip them yakis! Cook the other sides for another 5-6 minutes, then transfer yaki to a plate.
Sprinkle liberally with Aonori and Bonito flakes, then drizzle with Bulldog sauce and Siracha Mayo. Slice the Yaki into four wedges and serve.  We added a watermelon salad to our Yoko Ono Yakis and it was a wonderful little meal.

Notes:
This recipe contains a few ingredients that are a bit out of the ordinary and might need to be obtained from an asian grocery store.

Dashi is a Japanese stock made from seaweed and dried shrimps and Japanesey stuff.  You can buy granules at an asian market so it takes no time at all to put together.

Aonori is finely shredded seaweed.  It comes in a shaker bottle.

Bonito flakes are little dried bits of  fish which are grinded up into tasty flakes.  It doesn’t sound awesome, but when you add all of the ingredients, they all work really well with each other.

Siracha Mayo is siracha and mayonnaise added together.   Everyone should have some Siracha Mayo close by at all times.