Monjayaki Recipe: How to Make Japanese Savory Pancakes

Monjayaki, also known as monja, is a type of okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) popular in the Tsukishima neighborhood of Tokyo where there are more than 75 monjayaki restaurants on Monja Street. The defining feature of monjayaki is its thin, wheat flour batter with the texture of melted cheese. Monjayaki is made with stir-fry ingredients, such as cabbage and pork or mentaiko (cod roe), sakuraebi (dried shrimp), cheese, mochi, and ramen noodles.

Monjayaki restaurants often provide guests with a teppan grill or hot plate, batter, and various ingredients, allowing you to assemble your monjayaki side dish and eat it immediately. To make monjayaki, arrange the stir-fry into a donut shape, pour the batter in the center of the donut, stir everything together, and grill until crispy. Serve yourself using a hagashi (small spatula), not chopsticks.

Monjayaki is a type of okonomiyaki, savory Japanese pancakes that grew in popularity during the wartime rationing for World War II. There are three key differences between these Japanese foods:

• Texture: Okonomiyaki is thicker and pancake-like, while monjayaki is often compared to melted cheese. This is because monjayaki batter contains more dashi stock or water than typical okonomiyaki batter.
• Sauce: Okonomiyaki is typically drizzled with okonomiyaki sauce (a sweeter version of Worcestershire sauce) after it is cooked, while monjayaki features okonomiyaki sauce in the batter itself.
• Location: Okonomiyaki originated in the Kansai region of Japan and is very popular in Osaka, whereas monjayaki is an innovation from Tokyo in the Kanto region.

Follow these tips to ease the process of making monjayaki:

1. 1. Chop the ingredients into small, even pieces. Small pieces will cook quickly on the griddle and incorporate more easily into the batter. It also makes it easier to eat.
2. 2. Gradually incorporate the cooked ingredients into the batter. Mixing everything together at once will result in an undercooked batter.
3. 3. Eat as you go. Monjayaki is too fragile to be served on a plate. For the most authentic experience, eat it straight off the griddle.
4. 4. Pair monjayaki with other griddled foods: Restaurants that serve monjayaki often serve other griddled favorites like okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and teppanyaki (meat or vegetables cooked without batter or noodles).

Okonomiyaki sauce (sometimes called okonomi sauce) is a sweet, umami-loaded sauce typically served with Japanese savory pancakes called okonomiyaki. Like ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, okonomiyaki sauce is made from fruits and vegetables, sugar, and vinegar, along with the additions of kelp, soy sauce, and shiitake mushrooms.

While there are regional variations on the okonomiyaki pancake, namely in Hiroshima and Osaka, the dish is always topped with sweet-and-savory okonomiyaki sauce. In Japan, bottled okonomiyaki sauce is widely available, but it is easy to approximate the sauce at home using a few condiments.