Boxty Okonomiyaki (Irish × Japanese)

Method

1. Peel the potatoes, grate them on the fine side of a box grater and squeeze them dry in a cloth. Let the liquid stand for 2 minutes, pour off the water, keep the starch that settled in the bowl and add the squeezed potato back to it.

   Add in this stepPotatoes (peeled weight) 300 g

2. Shred the cabbage into thin 5 mm strips and slice the spring onions. Add the cabbage, spring onions, flour, eggs, dashi and salt to the potato and mix just until everything is coated. Overmixing draws water out of the cabbage and makes the batter soggy.

   Add in this stepWhite cabbage 120 gSpring onions (scallions) 20 gPlain (all-purpose) flour 55 gEggs 1Dashi stock (or water) 55 mlSalt ¼ tsp

3. Heat the oil in a 28 cm frying pan over medium heat. Spoon in one round per serving, about 15 cm wide and 1.5 cm thick (two fit in a 28 cm pan; ×2 means cook in 2 batches). Lay the bacon over the top and cook for 5 min, until the underside is golden and set enough to lift with a spatula without breaking.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspThin bacon rashers 4

   medium heat

4. Carefully flip with two spatulas so the bacon is underneath. Cover, turn down to medium-low heat and cook for 6 min more so the potato cooks through. When a chopstick pushed into the centre comes out clean and the potato looks translucent, flip once more and cook for about 1 minute to crisp the top.

   medium-low heat

5. Slide onto a plate, brush the top with the sauce, zigzag the mayonnaise over it and pile on the bonito flakes and aonori. Serve hot.

   Add in this stepOkonomiyaki sauce (or tonkatsu sauce) 2 tbspMayonnaise 2 tbspBonito flakes (katsuobushi) 2 gAonori (green seaweed flakes) 1 tsp