Kapustnyky Okonomiyaki (Ukrainian × Japanese)

Method

1. Put the flour, dashi powder and salt in a bowl, add the cold water and egg and whisk until smooth and lump-free. Chill for 10 min; resting relaxes the batter so the patties cook up tender.

   Add in this stepPlain flour 70 gInstant dashi powder 1 tspSalt 1 pinchCold water 100 mlEggs 1

2. Shred the cabbage into thin 2 mm strips, then chop across into 1 cm lengths. Thinly slice the spring onions and finely chop the pickled ginger and dill. Just before frying, add everything to the batter and fold gently from the bottom to keep it light; mixed too early, the cabbage gives off water.

   Add in this stepWhite cabbage 300 gSpring onions 2Japanese red pickled ginger (beni shoga) 10 gFresh dill 8 g

3. Mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream, spoon it into a small plastic bag and snip off a tiny corner.

   Add in this stepMayonnaise 2 tbspSour cream 2 tbsp

4. Heat the oil in a 26 cm frying pan on medium heat. Spoon in patties 9 cm across and 1.5 cm thick, 2 cm apart, cooking in batches. Lay a piece of bacon on top of each and cook for 4 min; when the bottom is golden, flip so the bacon side is down and cook for 4 min more. They are done when the bacon is crisp and fully cooked and no wet batter shows when you press the side. Place the patties away from you in case the oil spits.

   Add in this stepNeutral oil 2 tbspBacon rashers, halved 4

   medium heat

5. Turn them bacon side up onto plates, brush with tonkatsu sauce, pipe zigzags of the mayo-sour cream and scatter with bonito flakes and aonori. Serve straight away.

   Add in this stepTonkatsu or okonomiyaki sauce 3 tbspBonito flakes (katsuobushi) 2 gAonori (green seaweed flakes) ½ tsp