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.