Okonomiyaki and Shirtless Boys (a.k.a., I love Japan)

On friday we ate Okonomiyaki, which you might remember as being the food that Ukyo-chan from Ranma 1/2 cooked with a giant spatula. The word "okonomiyaki" or "お好み焼き" basically means "anything-goes-grilled" and is essentially that--whatever you can imagine mixed with a pancake-like batter and fried on a skillet. The restaurant experience is killer but the concept is basic enough that one can pull it off in the comfort of their own home. I love making pancakes, so this recipe seemed right up my alley. There are infinite ways to make it, but here's what I did:

First mix about a cup of flour with 1/2 cup of water mixed with dashi soup base (seaweed-flavored broth) and salt (although I used miso soup base instead).

Finely chop 1 or 2 leaves of cabbage (stem cut out), along with some welsh onion and garlic, however much you want. Throw the chopped veggies in with the batter. Add corn, seaweed, assorted seafood, and noodles as you see fit. I used imitation crab and soba noodles. Crack an egg over the top, and stir everything up a bit (not too much). Oil and heat up your skillet or pan. Pour the mixture on, and let it cook like you would a pancake. Flip when one side becomes golden-brown (see picture), then cook until all the egg and batter are cooked. Serve with okonomiyaki sauce and bonito flakes (dried fish shavings). Apparently mayo is also a popular topping, but I just can't see that.

The result was both delicious and effectively balanced. Everything I could want in a meal in a convenient patty. My recipe made 2 servings (what you see in the photo is 1 serving)

On a side note, I use the Youtube cooking show "Cooking with Dog" for most of my Japanese recipes. I'm going to miss the convenience of having an asian food store close by and very cheap.

And finally, this is the show Abby and I are watching. It's Wallflower, remember reading that? It airs on Channel 6 on Fridays at 10 pm. This was the latest episode. Despite how it looks, these four hotties did not just have an orgy. Actually, maybe they did? Does it really matter?