TOKYO CALLING

HIROSHIMA-STYLE OKONOMIYAKI

MAKES 2, SERVES 4

100g plain flour
120ml dashi (cooking stock)
3 eggs
½ hispi cabbage or flat cabbage, finely chopped
100g bean sprouts
150-200g tin of sweet corn, drained
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
40g beni shōga (pickled ginger) vegetable oil
6 rashers streaky bacon
200g prepared squid, scored and cut into 1cm-wide strips
2 portions fresh yakisoba/egg noodles (or dried noodles, parboiled)
about 150ml okonomi sauce Kewpie mayo as needed a few pinches of aonori and sesame seeds, plus a handful of katsuobushi (dried tuna)

Whisk flour, dashi and 1 egg to form a thin batter. In a separate Use a ladle to pour 2 pancakes into the frying pan, reserving a third of the batter. Top each pancake with cabbage mixture, then drizzle the remaining batter on top of each cabbage pile. Press down on the cabbage pile to flatten slightly, and cook for 5 minutes. Top each pile with 3 rashers of bacon, press down, then flip so the bacon is on the bottom. Press down again. Stir-fry squid in a separate space in the pan and add the noodles on top of squid. Toss together with a third of the okonomi sauce, then gather into a circle the same diameter as each pancake. Transfer pancake-cabbage pile to the top of each circle of noodles and cook for 5 minutes or until noodles are crisp on the bottom. Fry 2 eggs in the pan – break the yolk or keep intact. Transfer eggs to the top of each okonomiyaki, cover in okonomi sauce, mayo, aonori, sesame seeds, remaining beni shōga and spring onions and katsuobushi. Enjoy straight from the pan.