Okonomi-Latke Recipe (2024)

Great idea for some ikura I was gifted. Ignore the directions to pour all the batter into a 6-8 inch pan. This makes at least three 10 inch "latkes"--or many smaller ones. They need to be on the thin side or the batter won't cook properly. I didn't have any sprouts and I can't imagine why anyone would remove the ends of a quart of sprouts. I shredded the cabbage but I think thin slices would have added a bit more texture

Recipe made approximately a dozen .25-.5 thick, 8-inch wide latkes. I wouldn't make them anything thicker than that, as they won't cook through that well and end up a big soggy. Flavor was nice--I think you could definitely play with the type of veggies in the mix--I imagine julienned carrots might be nice as well. Instead of serving with creme fraiche, lemon, and ikura, I made a dipping sauce with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and scallions.

I've made this dish a few times and love the flavor, but found the recipe a tad unwieldy. Not sure what large potatoes are in other places, but it made enough for 8 people. I used instant dashi and always have it on hand. Parboiled potatoes for 15 minutes (whole) and refrigerated for 24 hours, (a trick I stole from Swiss rosti dishes). The peels almost fall off and after grating requires no wringing out. Since it was for x-mas dressed with salmon roe and wasabi caviar atop the creme fraiche.

I followed this recipe as written. It makes enough for 4 six inch pancakes, so cutting the first one into quarters let’s you begin eating while another one is cooked.I will try use a convection oven at 450 degrees next time.Blanching the grated potatoes brings out the potato starch. I removed a bit of it by wringing the hot potatoes in a tea towel. Next time I’ll wring them out before blanching them. Then I’ll blanch them and let them drain in a sieve after.

I wish I'd read the reviews first! Why would the chef indicate all this would fit in one pan? Very tasty but what a waste of ingredients when cooking for 2 people. I should have been a smarter cook! Put batter in fridge...hopefully it will fry up ok after sitting for a couple days.

Blanching the potatoes prevents them from turning brown. It also partially cooks them, so that they will be fully cooked in the short time the rest of the batter and other vegetables need.

I think there must be a step missing in this recipe. After cooking I realized the batter should be divided into 4 portions before cooking. The recipe simply says scrape all batter into pan. I realized it wouldn’t fit, so I decided to make 2. Each one is 1” thick, no more, but even after doubling the cooking time they are raw in the middle. I’ve resorted to using the microwave and I hope to save dinner. Please edit the recipe for clarity on this point. Thanks.

That's step 3.

I have made these and they were fantastic. Subbed chicken stock for the dashi and it worked well. Cooking time is way off; more like Kay Chun's 8 - 10 minutes one side; 8 the other; using a plate to flip. And a pet whine; an instruction on how the batter should be (thick; thin?) is always helpful because different flours absorb liquids differently etc etc you know the drill. ...

Made almost exactly according to recipe. Only change was, rather than spreading the parboiled potatoes on towels, I squeezed them dry by handfuls. Worked great, felt "interesting", cooked starch. I made smaller latkes (more crunchy outsides!) and they were delicious, but way too salty. Half as much salt next time. Also, made a ton of latkes. Maybe half a recipe next time, too.

We all loved this. The dashi provides a lot of flavor and there was no need for toppings, though we topped them with sour cream, smoked salmon & scallions. I probably won't make it again because it took me an hour to fry up the batch and the clean up was a pain due to the grated potatoes sticking to the kitchen towels. I still gave it 5 stars because it was delicious! I would eat them if someone else made them and cleaned up!

These were divine. Used the same amount of plain gluten free flower instead of regular. Came out fabulous. Did not bother to de-pod the sprouts. Did not seem to negatively affect the dish. So so good.

I don’t know if it was the corn starch (used in lieu of rice flour) or what, but these were really sticky and hard to work with in my cast iron skillet! Have never had that problem with latkes or okonomiyaki before!

This was a total hit, cooked to rule (with the exception of not even dreaming to be bothered with removing the leaves of sprouts.) We chose this to pair with a Hanukkah brisket cooked with flavors from the NYT bulgogi recipe (with a ton of spicy samjang added). Yummy. I appreciated the heads up here in the notes re size of batch.

Does anyone know if gluten free flour could be substituted and still taste reasonably good, if not really good too?

I've made this dish a few times and love the flavor, but found the recipe a tad unwieldy. Not sure what large potatoes are in other places, but it made enough for 8 people. I used instant dashi and always have it on hand. Parboiled potatoes for 15 minutes (whole) and refrigerated for 24 hours, (a trick I stole from Swiss rosti dishes). The peels almost fall off and after grating requires no wringing out. Since it was for x-mas dressed with salmon roe and wasabi caviar atop the creme fraiche.

Tasty but the recipe has some problems. Par boiling the potatoes seems useless and counterproductive. It is impossible to dry them sufficiently and with the addition of other watery vegetables; whole cabbage, onions and bean sprouts not to mention the too salty batter, the latkes can’t get very crisp. Also this makes a lot of batter. I made at least 20 smaller pieces of about 3”. I would do it the old latke method, grate potatoes, drain squeeze in a dish towel. Use less cabbage or salt & drain.

Probably I am stupid but cannot find the note re russet potatoes. Am I missing something central, did Stephen Hawking die in vain ?

I think there must be a step missing in this recipe. After cooking I realized the batter should be divided into 4 portions before cooking. The recipe simply says scrape all batter into pan. I realized it wouldn’t fit, so I decided to make 2. Each one is 1” thick, no more, but even after doubling the cooking time they are raw in the middle. I’ve resorted to using the microwave and I hope to save dinner. Please edit the recipe for clarity on this point. Thanks.

This was good, but the recipe makes far more than 4 servings as a side dish, more like 12 servings; and all the batter will not fit in an 8 inch skillet.

I followed this recipe as written. It makes enough for 4 six inch pancakes, so cutting the first one into quarters let’s you begin eating while another one is cooked.I will try use a convection oven at 450 degrees next time.Blanching the grated potatoes brings out the potato starch. I removed a bit of it by wringing the hot potatoes in a tea towel. Next time I’ll wring them out before blanching them. Then I’ll blanch them and let them drain in a sieve after.

I wish I'd read the reviews first! Why would the chef indicate all this would fit in one pan? Very tasty but what a waste of ingredients when cooking for 2 people. I should have been a smarter cook! Put batter in fridge...hopefully it will fry up ok after sitting for a couple days.

What is the point of blanching the potatoes in step 1?