It's late, but not too late

 

 As I sipped my coffee on a cold Vermont morning in January 2022, I silently asked myself, what are you going to do this year?

I am not into the resolution thing one bit. I see needing a date to start a new habit as a crutch to circumvent laziness and procrastination. My avoidance of resolutions is almost as unsettling as if I were to embrace them. Sometimes, you just need to back away from the over-thinkers bar.

 

Whew! Almost lost my white blazes there! “I want to make Gordon Ramsay’s Beef Wellington and I absolutely want to make Okonomiyaki” a savory Japanese pancake mostly consisting of cabbage, and pork belly, topped with scallions, special sauces, and bonito flakes.

 

So here I sit in October 2023 and neither of these were done. I kept telling myself that I would get around to it.  I first watched June Xie make Okonomiyaki on a beloved episode of Budget Eats about 3 years ago.  Of course, with ninja class, June involuntarily pulled it together using the items she found on super-sale in Woodside, Queens New York.

 

It was this free-range portrayal of Okonomiyaki that made it so clear to me that this was a piece of culinary ambition that would tell much about the person making it and could express in taste and presentation where that person came from.  Their joys, sorrows, and expectations are all on a plate waiting for conveyance through the enjoyment of others.

 

As I write this I am listening to Traffic's 1971 LP, Low Spark of High Healed Boys. The pace is right for these words. If you know it, you know what I mean.

 

In July I signed up for a Japanese cooking class for mid-September.  I should have paid closer attention when I did. There was much more to the story.  The class was fantastic and while there, I learned that this was a once-a-month event, all of which I would love to participate in.

Upon returning home, I got right onto the website to find that October's class was Okonomiyaki, the great crown jewel that in my estimation had cunningly evaded my capture of it. Finally!  Then... waiting list, which is where I remain to this day only 5 days prior to the class. I knew what I had to do.

It was time to take matters into my own hands.  Yesterday, with all of the love and care that I could give, I painstakingly slivered up the green cabbage as fine as my knife and steady hand could physically muster. I made the batter and with the cabbage and scallions, I rested that in the downstairs fridge for the next 18 hours.

I often find that using pork butt/shoulder is a worthy substitute for pork belly.  So I thinly sliced port shoulder into thin narrow slices resembling bacon. I knew then that sometime in the next 24 hours, it would happen.

Not so thankfully, RA pain and sleeplessness had me awake at 4:30 this morning.  Once I surrendered to starting the day, I knew it was time.  Noah was getting ready for school and why not start his day with Okonomiyaki?  

Let's just say my kitchen was not exactly ready for it.  I usually go to bed with a clean sink, but not last night.  So, every horizontal surface in the kitchen was utilized as I figured out my newest, and not difficult at all quest.

The end result was excellent.  Yes, Noah went to school with a good meal and one that I would be willing to bet, no one else in attendance there had the same.

In one creation I see why I was so attracted to this dish. I see why June chose it in the Budget Eats genre. Okonomiyaki is a canvas upon which anything can happen. After making this once, I am clear that I will never need to refer to a recipe again because what ingredients contribute to the future one's will be guided only by what is in my heart and refrigerator. 

What is this dish like?  It is very indigenous to itself. Crispy fried and soft cabbage with green onion brings sweet flavors carried through with a batter that provides umami, umami, and more umami.

Topped with Japanese mayo, slightly sour, creamy, Okonomiyaki Sauce (umami A-bomb), fried garlic, and bonito flakes which dance around on the hot pancake while it is hot due to them being almost lighter than air.  

I would still love to attend this Saturday's class, but if I cannot, I will be okay.  The Okonomiyaki in my house is doing just fine.  I do have one reservation however, now that I have made this dish, I now feel the pressure to set my sites on the Wellington.