Seafood Okonomiyaki

"What's for lunch?" is H's greetings recently whenever school's out. 9 months of canteen lunches ( economical rice, soup noodles ) has got H excited about lunch at home.

Exam session is coming. School activities is winding slowly to a close, which means H will be home for more lunches in the coming weeks. I am all geared up to whip up something both of us enjoy so that we can share a happy lunch together.

Under the magic carpet recipe folder of my Microsoft Onenote , there is a list of dishes I hope will make her lunch day. Okonomiyaki, rosti, spanish omelet. ..

First on my list : Seafood Okonomiyaki.

The zucchini takes a while to prepare, so the idea is to salt and leech the zucchini while you do other chores. Other than that, all that is needed is a strong wrist for flipping the frying pan over the plate. I skip the mayo and sauce sauce combo to cut back on the fat. The okonomiyaki , chock-a-block with prawns, crab stick ( or maybe the occasional unagi slices ) and crunchy vegetables , satisfies the food pyramid to a T.

Use 1/3 cup ( the rice cup type ) of flour per person. If you like it chewier, add a tablespoon of atta ( wholemeal ) flour on top of the self raising flour.

A one dish meal for 2 :

1/2 cup prawns, shelled and deveined
1/2 cup crab sticks, cut to bite size
1/2 head very small cabbage, cut to bite size
1/2 zucchini , quartered and sliced thinly, skin left intact
1 egg
2/3 ( rice cup ) cup self raising flour
Depending on the wetness of your vegetables, about 1/3 (rice cup ) cup water

Sprinkle salt on zucchini to leech out juice. Leave for 1 hour. Wash and squeeze dry.

Together with cabbage, microwave for 1 minutes. This rids cabbage of 'veggie' smell. Drain. Cool for further use.

Mix flour,egg,water,prawn,crab sticks.
Add vegetables.
Season very lightly if you intend to serve with mayonaise / bbq sauce.

Side 1 :
Heat 8 inch pan. Oil lightly, sides of pan included. I use garlic oil for extra kick.
Pour mixture when pan is very hot. Fry on high for 2 minutes. Reduce to medium heat.
Fry for another 5 minutes. Shake pan so that okonomiyaki can slide about.
Cover pan with plate.flip pan over plate to reveal crispy side.
If you follow the procedure correctly, the uncooked side is now on the plate surface.

Side 2:
Oil pan again. Increase heat.
Slide uncooked side of okonomiya back to pan.
Again,
Fry on high for 2 minutes.
Reduce to medium heat.
Fry for another 5 minutes. Shake pan so that okonomiyaki can slide about.
Okonomiyaki's ready.


Serve straight from the pan, garnish with bonito, mayonaise and bbq sauce if so wish.

Goes well with some cold beer and your favorite Korean/Japanese drama ( I recommend BoysOverFlowers, my favorite K-drama ). Enjoy!