Dumpling Okonomiyaki

One of our regular dinners of late has been Dumpling Okonomiyaki.  The first time I made it we loved it but it needed tweaking.  It has taken quite a few iterations to find the Goldilocks version that was just right.  It is a great big pancake of comfort but it is chock full of cabbage so surely it can't be that unhealthy.  Actually it is more cake than pancake because it is not that flat. 

It always amazes me just how much cabbage is in this dish.  When preparing ingredients for the meal, slicing up the cabbage always takes the longest.  But it is important to the texture of the okonomiyaki.  It lightens that stodginess of the mixture of flour, stock and egg in the batter. 

I love this photo of the pickled ginger and spring onions on the cabbage.  The cabbage is such a dull colour so it is nice to have these other colours through the okonomiyaki.  I recently noticed in the ingredients listed in okonomiyaki on a food truck menu included fish broth.  I asked about it and was told it was fairly common but they could make it for me without fish stock.

I am fascinated by the dish because it cooks the dumplings and okonomiyaki together.  I love both of these but it can be hard to choose between them.  This is the best of both worlds.  It took me a while to work out how to steam fried dumplings and when I checked if I had made okonomiyaki before, I found a reference in my blog to a horrid failed attempt at making it.  So I was pretty happy after quite a bit of experimenting to master this recipe.

The first time I made it the mixture was really high and felt like it would never cook though.  Even when cooked the okonomiyaki is quite moist.  So the next time I halved the dumplings and the batter but there weren't enough dumplings and it was a paid to make two lots.  The last time I made it, I left out a bit of the mixture that I cooked up as plain okonomiyaki later.  We always have leftover of the dumpling okonomiyakit.  It makes a lot but is great heated for lunch the next day.

Having made it on more occasions than I can remember, I have learnt a thing or two.  Not only is there a little much batter for my frypan but also it cooks quicker if the dumplings are thawed.  One of the big challenges other than trying not to burn the bottom, is to flip it.  It is quite bulky.  I now use two flippers which helps but it still doesn't always land clean.  

The most satisfying part of the dish is arranging the dumplings in a swirly sun that looks beautiful.  We always use the same green vegetarian dumplings which have a great intense ginger flavour.  The green dumpling skins look pretty when you cut slices.  

The article where I found this recipe also gave a sauce recipe (tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and kewpie mayonnaise).  I am not keen on covering food in sauce and left this out.  But then I found I enjoyed it with some mayonnaise and furikake on the side.  Maybe I would like a little of the sauce with it.  Sylvia preferred to have hers with soy sauce.

If you have a little energy and time, I highly recommend you try this.  I think it might be an impressive dish to make for entertaining, though I would recommend a trial first.  It would serve quite a few people if you can the wedges small.

I was thinking that this dish could be quite versatile for catering to different dietary requirements.  Mine is vegetarian and dairy free.  Others could use seafood or meat dumplings.  I use vegan-friendly dumplings (though I am not sure of the difference between vegan and vegan-friendly).  So you could always cook some of the dumplings separately.  As for gluten free, there are so many good gluten free flour mixes about that it might work to just make GF okonomiyaki with some of the mixture and add the rest to the dumplings.  Then there is the challenge of making it glegan (gluten free or vegan) which is possible but would take a little extra work.  However you want to eat it, I am sure it will be delicious.

More cabbage recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:

• Asian napa cabbage salad (gf, v)  
• Asian rice with cabbage, corn and celery (gf, v)
• Quinoa, cabbage and corn soup (gf, v)
• Pierogi with cabbage, walnuts and blue cheese
• Pineapple and cabbage rice salad (gf, v) 
• Roast cabbage (gf, v)
•  Spicy cabbage and coconut soup (gf, v)

Dumpling Okonomiyaki
Adapted from Katrina Meynink in The Age newspaper
Serves 4

450g frozen store-bought dumplings (about 15 dumplings)
1-2 tsp oil, for frying

Okonomiyaki:
1/2 head Chinese wombok cabbage, finely shredded
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 eggs
3 spring onions (or 1/2 red onion), chopped
1/4 cup grated cheddar
2 tbsp pickled ginger, finely chopped
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder* forgot
1/2 cup cornflour* 

To serve (optional):
mayonnaise
furikake seasoning 

Mix the Okonokiyaki ingredients in a large bowl and rest batter for 20 minutes.


Meanwhile, gently thaw frozen dumplings in the microwave (better to be slightly too frozen than too warm).  

Heat oil in a cast iron frypan on medium to medium high heat. Arrange thawed dumplings (using tongs to avoid oil splatter) and fry for 2-3 minutes until they are slightly browned on the bottom.  (Use tongs to pick them up and check.)

Spoon batter into the frypan, using the spoon to make sure that batter is poked down between dumplings before covering the dumplings completely and smoothing the batter with the back of the spoon.  I set aside 1-2 cups of batter because my frypan is about 25cm in diameter at the top and I found the whole batter was a bit much, both in terms of eating and cooking. 

Cover with a lid (I use a large saucepan lid) and fry for 15-20 minutes on low medium heat.  When you can smell the bottom browning and the top of mixture is  thickened and noticeably drier, it is time to turn over.  

Firstly use an eggflip (spatula) to gently slide in around the edges and under the bottom to loosen the batter and dumplings from the pan so so that it will not stick when flipping.  I use two eggflips (because it is quite substantial and still a little soft and sticky) to flip over.  If the flippers come away with soft batter at any point in this process just wipe it off and continue.  It has been a challenge to get it to flip cleanly so don't worry if there is a little of the non-fried soft batter showing when you turn it over.  Press  down firmly with your egg flip and poke a few holes in the top of the pancake to allow steam to escape. Fry for a further 7 to 10 minutes until the bottom is golden brown (you can slide your eggflip under the check).  

Transfer to a chopping board or serving plate.  Serve in thick wedges with mayonaaise and furikake if desired.  I like mine on the side but other like to drizzle over the top.

*NOTES:

• Fry up large spoonfuls of any leftover batter to make small Okonomiyaki to have for lunch the next day or freeze. 
• I forgot the baking powder one time and it was fine.
• Australian cornflour is the same as what Americans refer to as corn starch.  I only had 1/4 cup of cornflour one time and added 1/4 cup of besan (chickpea flour) which worked fine.

On the Stereo:
Don't Forget About Me Demos - Dominic Fike