Monjayaki

Name: Monjayaki
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: cabbage 300 g; cut dried squid 1 tbsp; tenkasu 1 pinch; dried shrimp 1 tbsp; water 350 ml; wheat flour 30 g; Japanese granulated dashi 1 tsp; Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp; cooking oil 1 tbsp; aonori 1 tsp; bonito flakes 2 tbsp; ground pepper 0.25 tsp

Quick answer

Total time: 30 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients: 12

About this dish

Monjayaki never sets into a pancake.

A very loose flour-and-dashi batter cooks down with finely cut cabbage on a hot griddle, and diners scrape it up a bite at a time from the edge with small spatulas, pressing each bite briefly onto the hot griddle to crisp it. Most closely tied to Tsukishima in Tokyo, it is about eating the crisp, browned base and the soft center together. Dried squid, dried shrimp, and tenkasu add savory crunch to the Worcestershire-seasoned liquid.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

tenkasu1 pinch

Japanese granulated dashi

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Cut the cabbage into short, coarse strips.

Place it in a bowl with the dried squid, tenkasu, and dried shrimp.
2

Whisk the water, flour, and granulated dashi in a large bowl until no lumps remain.

Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, then set the cabbage mixture on top of the batter.
3

Heat a griddle or hot plate to 230°C and spread the cooking oil thinly.

Lift only the solids from the bowl onto the plate and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, chopping with spatulas until the cabbage begins to wilt.
4

Gather the fried ingredients into a firm ring with an empty center so the liquid cannot escape.

Pour the loose batter slowly into the center and wait about 2 minutes.
5

When small bubbles appear and the batter edges thicken, mix the ring and batter together.

Spread it into a thin, flat layer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside browns.
6

Scatter the aonori, bonito flakes, and pepper evenly.

Scrape up one bite at a time from the edge with a small spatula, press it briefly against the griddle to toast the surface, and eat while hot.