My 15 1/2 pound cabbage and Okonomiyaki.

Yes, you read correctly, it is a 15 1/2 pound cabbage that a friend of mine grew and gave to me.   And yes, those are baby cabbages growing underneath.  They were just too cute!  I couldn't wait to see what kind of recipes I could dig up to use this bad boy in.  


One of the first photos to pop up when I looked at Pinterest, was Okonomiyaki.  Trust me, I had no idea what this was either, but it looked pretty tasty.  Turns out, Oh-koh-noh-mee-yah-ke, is a Japanese pancake or pizza.  The main ingredient being cabbage.


Here is what mine turned out like. 

I'm sure it is a far cry from the original Japanese version, but it is my interpretation after looking at several recipes.  I'm happy because they were pretty healthy and quite yummy.


The ingredients are fairly simple for this pancake fritter thing. 

1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot
2 eggs (lightly beaten)


and your favorite seasonings..I tend to always use..
Greek seasoning
roasted garlic powder
salt and pepper
I also added two dashes of soy sauce


In a large bowl, mix the cabbage, onions, carrots and seasonings.  Then add the eggs and Panko crumbs and mix lightly, just get everything incorporated.  


In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add just a bit of oil for frying.  Drop the mixture into the skillet in about 1/4 cup little blobs and flatten them just a little with a spatula.   

Cook until browned on both sides.  It was probably about 3 minutes per side.   I like to place them on a paper towel or paper plate to absorb a little of the oil.   Allow to cool, just long enough so you don't burn your mouth...sometimes this is hard for me to do.  


The flavor of these allows you to use whatever dipping sauce you are in the mood for.  You can use pancake syrup or honey if you are in a sweet mood or use a ranch, sour cream or ketchup type dressing if you are in a savory mood.  I actually ate them plain so that I could enjoy the patty flavor all by itself.   Next time, I think I may either add a little cheese to the mix or top them with a little cheese.  I LOVE me some cheese.  :)


It's funny, this cabbage was SO big, all it took for this recipe was ONE of the baby cabbage heads off the bottom.   It's a good thing I like cabbage, because I have about 15 pounds left to eat.  Well, actually, I knew there was no way I could eat it all, so I gave about half of it away, but still have enough to eat for 2 weeks!  

Love what you eat and eat what you love.  :)