History

Modan-yaki appeared in postwar Osaka okonomiyaki houses as a stretching of the basic dish, layering cheap yakisoba noodles under the batter to feed more diners. The name combines the English modern with the Japanese yaki; by the 1970s every okonomiya in the city offered a modan variant, and it is now the canonical add-on order for Osaka griddle dining.

Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Soy, Fish

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 25 minTotal 35 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 150g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon dashi powder
  • 200ml cold water
  • 2 large eggs (for the batter)
  • 2 more large eggs (for the layer)
  • 300g finely shredded white cabbage
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 2 tablespoons tenkasu (tempura crumbs)
  • 2 tablespoons benishoga (red pickled ginger), chopped
  • 150g sliced pork belly
  • 2 portions cooked yakisoba noodles (about 300g)
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil
  • Okonomi sauce, kewpie mayonnaise, bonito flakes, aonori, to finish

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, dashi powder, water and 2 eggs to a smooth batter. Fold in the cabbage, spring onion, tenkasu and benishoga.
  2. Heat a wide non-stick pan or teppan over medium-high. Brush with 1 tablespoon oil.
  3. Lay one portion of cooked yakisoba noodles in a flat round directly on the hot pan, season with a splash of okonomi sauce, and fry 2 minutes until the underside is crisp.
  4. Pour half the cabbage-batter mixture over the noodles, spread to a 20cm round, and lay half the pork belly slices on top.
  5. Cook 5 minutes until the underside is deep gold, then flip carefully (use two spatulas).
  6. Cook the second side 5 minutes more.
  7. Crack one egg onto an oiled bare patch of the pan, break the yolk and spread to the size of the pancake; slide the pancake onto the egg, pork-side up, and cook 1 minute until the egg sets.
  8. Slide onto a plate egg-side up. Lacquer with okonomi sauce, zigzag kewpie mayo, finish with bonito flakes and aonori.
  9. Repeat for the second modan-yaki.

Tip from the editors. Crisp the noodles separately before adding the batter; if you spread batter onto cold noodles, the bottom layer stays gummy and the whole pancake collapses on the flip.

Where to eat modan-yaki

Modan-yaki in Osaka

Okonomiyaki Mizuno ★ 4.0

Okonomiyaki¥¥Dotonbori and NambaFri-Wed 11:00-22:00; Thu closed

A Dotonbori landmark for Osaka okonomiyaki since 1945; nagaimo yam batter and pork belly on a table teppan, with bonito flakes and house sauce.

Order: ['Buta-tama (pork okonomiyaki)', 'Ika-tama (squid)', 'Negiyaki (spring onion)']

1-4-15 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0071

Kadoya Shokudo ★ 4.2

Ramen¥Horie and Nishi-kuWed-Mon 10:00-15:00; Tue closed

A Shinmachi ramen institution since 1957: house-milled noodles in duck and shoyu broth. Queues form by 11:30 and the kitchen closes when soup runs out.

Order: ['Duck soba', 'Gyoza']

4-16-13 Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0013

More cities are in research. Want modan-yaki covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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