Next up is Japan! Japan is the last country in this part of the trip to the Asian continent. After that we will go back to do a second tour of Africa with all brand new countries to visit! Obviously Japan has some very unique foods. Only a few of the most iconic Japanese foods are sushis, Japanese curry, tempura, teriyaki and there are so much others!

• Capital: Tokyo
• Population: about 127 million
• Area: 377 972 km²
• Currency: Yen

For my Japanese recipe I made Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake containing a bunch of delicious ingredients. It can be prepared many ways. I made mine with cabbage and pork belly.

Okonomiyaki

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound pork belly
• 4 scallions
• 2 tablespoons seaweed powder
• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup bonito flakes plus some more for dressing
• 1/2 napa cabbage
• 2 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs

For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

This recipe is for 4 large pancakes. First prepare all the ingredients. Measure all the ingredients. Cut the cabbage in thin slices and slice the scallions in 1/2 inch slices. Thinly slice the pork belly.

In a small pot, heat 2 cups of water with 1/4 cup bonito flakes. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat as soon as it starts boiling. Let steep for 5 minutes. Strain the liquid and discard the bonito flakes.

Whisk 1 1/2 cup of the broth prepared above with the flour and a little bit of salt. You should obtain a thick batter. If the batter is not runny enough add a little bit of stock. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together and set aside.

In a cast iron skillet, heat a little bit of oil and cook the pork belly slices until slightly crispy.

Once the batter has rested for at least 30 minutes, take it out of the fridge.

Take a large bowl, and add 1/2 cup of batter, 1 egg, 1/4 of the chopped cabbage, 1/4 of the scallions, 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Mix everything together. Heat a cast iron skillet or a pan on medium heat with a little bit of oil. Pour the batter in and spread to obtain a large 1/2 inch thick pancake. Cook for 5 minutes on one side and flip. Once the pancake is flipped, using a brush, spread some sauce on top of the cooked side. Cook for another 2 minutes and flip again. Using the brush cover the top with some sauce again. Add a few slices pork belly, using a pouch decorate with a few lines of mayo and finish by adding some seaweed powder and bonito flakes on top. Serve while hot.

Repeat the operation to make the 3 other pancakes.

どうぞめしあがれ