Okonomiyaki: "Your Choice" Japanese Pancake + BLT Salad

Jenn lives with 3 roommates, and one of them (Mitsky) is from Japan. We were inspired to make this popular Japanese-style pancake after watching her make a delicious looking one with bacon on top. She told us that Okonomiyaki means "your choice," meaning you can put whatever you like in the pancake, (ie. cabbage - popular choice, carrots, zucchini, bean sprouts, cheese, shrimp, chicken, or bacon) it's super versatile!

We decided on cabbage, carrots, green onion and bacon. This is a great last minute supper idea, as it has all of the elements of a balanced satisfying meal. You could call it a vegetable fritter although it is a "pancake" the vegetables over power the batter which acts more like a binder.

We also found inspiration from Closet Cooking; Kevin illustrates a perfect flip method using a plate (if you're making one large pancake as opposed to a few smaller ones.

Onto the recipe!

1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup water
1 egg
Salt

2/3 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrots
1 green onion, sliced
3 strips bacon

Avocado Dressing
1 avocado, ripe
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper

Blend in a food processor, add water if needed.

To make pancake: Combine flour, water, egg, vegetables and salt. Pour into oiled non stick pan, layer bacon on uncooked side. Cook 5-10 minutes each side of until golden brown.

Makes enough for one meal or two snacks!

batter pre pancake

drizzled with avocado dressing and chili sauce! 

And with the extra bacon, we decided on a scrumptious BLT salad! (We used the avocado dressing above).

Croutons: bread, olive oil and salt/pepper