The Best Sweet and Savory Japanese Pancake Recipes for Lunch and Dessert!

Japanese people sure know how to make pancakes. First of all, have you seen their sweet tall hotcakes? They are taller and fluffier than all the classic American pancake recipes you have prepared! Have you heard of Dorayaki? If not, you are in for a surprise! How about their rich savory variation that is hardly a pancake? Heck, it’s a lunch that will make you absolutely happy.

So, what are you up for? Let’s start with a lunch and then eat a dessert, shall we?

Note: There are a lot of Asian and Japanese ingredients, spices, and condiments included in these pancakes. Find them in Asian markets to capture the authentic taste.

Savory Japanese Pancake Recipes

The savory Japanese version of pancakes is called ‘Okonomiyaki’. Okonomiyaki is often compared to an omelet or called "Japanese pizza".

Its very name tells you what to expect: okonomi, means "what you like", and yaki means "grill" So, grill whatever you like! There is no better description for a pancake batter that includes whatever comes to mind, although preferences vary depending on the region.

Even though versions of this dish have existed in the past, the Okonomiyaki became increasingly popular in Japan during the second world war as a result of a rice shortage.

The version that predominates in the country is the one originating from Kansai region, where the batter is made of flour, water or dashi (cooking stock), eggs, grated nagaimo (a type of Chinese yam), and shredded cabbage.

Other ingredients that almost always appear in this dish are green onion, meat (most usually pork belly) or seafood, cheese, various vegetables (among which konjac potato is most common), and mochi (rice paste).

Some okonomiyaki restaurants offer raw ingredients and allow you to grill the pancake yourself on special hotplates called ‘teppans’. This is a great idea if you throw food parties. Instead of bringing their own food, ask the guests to bring raw ingredients, exchange them among each other and create different okonomiyaki pancake recipes. Some believe that this dish originated in Osaka, the largest city in Kansai. In Osaka, the batter is fried together with the rest of the ingredients on both sides on a pan (or a traditional teppan). Metal spatulas are frequently used to facilitate the flipping, but also for slicing when the pancake is done.

The cooked okonomiyaki is topped with the following local ingredients:

• okonomiyaki sauce, which is very similar to Worcestershire sauce, only sweeter and thicker

• dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna flakes

• Japanese mayonnaise

• seaweed flakes

• pickled ginger

Okonomiyaki Pancake Recipe

These are the essential ingredients for Okonomiyaki that can be complemented with any type of meat, veggie, or cheese you like. Don’t forget to add some of the above-mentioned toppings!

• 2 cups plain flour

• 3 cups water

• 4 eggs

• ½ large cabbage

• 2 tsp. dashi (or chicken stock powder)

• Okonomiyaki Sauce

Here is how to make it:

1. Finely slice the cabbage. Squeeze with your hands to soften it a bit after slicing.

2. Mix the water, flour, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the dashi and pickled ginger. Add the cabbage and stir to combine.

3. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Pour the batter into the pan and place any additional ingredients (e.g. meat) on top.

4. Cook over medium heat for about 5 min. Turn over with a spatula and keep cooking for about 4-5 minutes. Serve with the meat side up and top with a sauce of choice.

Other Okonomiyaki Pancake Varieties

In the Hiroshima region, the ingredients are not mixed but arranged in layers in this order: batter, cabbage, meat (usually pork). It must be noted that people in this region are big on cabbage, so much so that they add three times more cabbage in their pancakes than people in Osaka. At first, the layers are quite tall, but the pancake flattens as the cabbage cooks.

Other optional ingredients are cheese and seafood, especially octopus and squid, cheese and plenty of scallions. The topping consists of fried noodles of noodles with fried egg, as well as plenty of okonomiyaki sauce.

Here are some other regional alternatives of this pancake:

- In Tokyo, okonomiyaki pancakes are made with a runnier batter;

- In Okinawa, the pancake is thinner than in other areas;

- Other optional ingredients depending on the region are pickled daikon, oysters, prawns, chicken instead of pork, ground meat, and kintoki sweet potato.

Sweet Japanese Pancake Recipes

Traditional Japanese Hotcakes

As I said, these mind-blowing pancakes are super-tall and ultra-fluffy. To achieve that appealing look, you will need to cook them in a ring mold. These hotcakes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Another thing that makes them different that the classic American pancakes is the fact that they are a bit sweeter.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 2 eggs

• 3/4 cup buttermilk

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• butter

• vegetable oil for frying

Here is how to make them:

1. Place the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a blender and mix on the lowest setting for about 3 minutes, until well incorporated.

2. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture blend again for about a minute or so.

3. Grease the inside of the ring mold with some butter and heat some oil in a frying pan or a skillet over medium heat.

4. Put the mold in the center of the frying pan, and pour the batter until the mold is half-full. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.

5. Turn the hotcake together with the mold and keep cooking for 3 minutes more.

6. Serve your hotcakes warm, topped with butter, fruit slices, jam, or syrup.

Dorayaki Pancakes

I saved the best for the last!

Dorayaki is a pancake sandwich filled with sweet red bean paste. People in Japan are crazy about this and for a good reason!

The soft and fluffy pancakes are made with honey, usually filled with azuki red beans. Other popular fillings include chestnuts, custards, and creams (green tea cream and fruit cream in particular). Dorayaki is usually served with a cup of Japanese green tea, which is slightly bitter and makes a great pair with the sweet pancakes. You can find this confectionary in Asian markets but trust me, they taste much, much better when you make them home and eat them warm!

Here is a recipe to check if I am right:

• 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp. water

• 4 large eggs

• 2 tbsp. honey

• 1 tsp. vegetable oil for frying

• 2 cups sweet red bean paste

Follow the instructions:

1. Mix the eggs, sugar, and honey in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and stir together. Let the batter sit in the fridge to smoothen for about 15 minutes.

3. Add a tablespoon or two of water.

4. Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Grease with oil, then remove the oil completely when it is hot with a paper towel. If there is too much oil you won’t obtain evenly golden-browned pancakes without any spots.

5. Pour three tablespoons of batter per pancake and cook until bubbles appear on top, for about 1-2 minute. Flip and cook for one minute more.

6. Make a sandwich with the red bean paste. There should be more paste in the center (the middle part should be thicker that the edges of the sandwich).

Note: Dorayaki sandwiches freeze very well. Just wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in a zip-lock bag. They keep for a whole month. When you are ready to eat, heat in the microwave.

Enjoy!