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Monjayaki
Griddled cabbage and batter
もんじゃ焼き (monjayaki): a loose cabbage-and-batter griddle dish from Tsukishima, scraped up straight from the hotplate
JapaneseMonjayaki comes from Tsukishima, a small island district in Tokyo Bay, where one street holds more than seventy monja restaurants. It began as a cheap after-school snack at sweet shops, with children writing letters in thin batter on a griddle. Today friends gather round a teppan table, build a ring of chopped cabbage, pour the runny batter into the middle and eat it with tiny spatulas while it is still molten. It never sets into a pancake like okonomiyaki: the texture is gooey, with crisp, toasty bits where it sticks to the plate. Our version leaves out the usual dried shrimp and uses mochi and cheese, a favourite Tsukishima combination. Chef's tip: press a little monja against the hot griddle with your spatula and wait until it crackles. That crisp layer, called the okoge, is the best bite.
- Total time
- 27 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the batter
- ⅔ oz plain flour
- 1 ¼ cups kombu-shiitake dashicold
- 1 tsp soy sauce
For the filling
- 7 oz white cabbagefinely chopped into 5 mm pieces
- 2 spring onionsthinly sliced
- 3 tbsp tenkasu (tempura crumbs)plain kind (check for shrimp or bonito), or crushed plain rice crackers
- 1 ¾ oz sweetcorn kernels
- 1 kirimochi (dried rice cake)cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
To finish
- 1 tsp aonori (green seaweed flakes) (optional)
- 1 tbsp beni shoga (red pickled ginger) (optional)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Whisk ⅔ oz plain flour into 1 ¼ cups kombu-shiitake dashi until there are no lumps, then stir in 2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp soy sauce. It will look like thin, cloudy soup, which is right.
Step 2: Put 7 oz white cabbage, 2 spring onions, 3 tbsp tenkasu (tempura crumbs), 1 ¾ oz sweetcorn kernels and 1 kirimochi (dried rice cake) in a bowl, then pour the batter over without mixing, so the solids sit on top.
Step 3: Heat an electric griddle or a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Lift the solids out of the batter with a slotted spoon and fry them, chopping with two spatulas, for 3–4 minutes until the cabbage wilts and smells sweet.
4 minStep 4: Push the cabbage into a ring about 20 cm across with a hole in the middle, like a doughnut. Pour half the batter into the hole and let it bubble for 1 minute until it thickens.
1 minStep 5: Common mistake: pouring all the batter at once, so it bursts the ring and floods the pan. Add it in two goes, letting the first half thicken first.
Step 6: Pour in the rest of the batter, then mix everything together with the spatulas, chopping as you go, and spread it out thinly. Scatter 1 ⅜ oz pizza cheese or grated mozzarella over the top.
2 minStep 7: Cook for 2–3 minutes more over medium heat until the edges turn golden and crisp and the cheese melts. Sprinkle with 1 tsp aonori (green seaweed flakes) and 1 tbsp beni shoga (red pickled ginger). Eat straight from the griddle with small spatulas or spoons, pressing each bite against the hot surface until it sizzles.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does monjayaki take?
- About 27 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 12 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
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