Tonpei yaki (Japanese savory pork cabbage omelette, とん平焼き)

Tonpei yaki is one of the very popular teppan (Iron plate) yaki dishes, especially in Kansai area like Osaka, Japan. “Ton” means “pig”, “pei” means “flat” in Japanese.
It is similar to Okonomiyaki, but ingredients and the taste are different.
Tonpei yaki is originally from the restaurant which is named “Hontonpei” in Osaka, Japan. The owner of the restaurant invented Tonpei yaki when he was caught by Russian military during war and used their food as a reference. This dish has a thick savory flavor and tastes really good!

Ingredients (For 2 plates):

• 1/8 cabbage
• 250g (0.6 LBS) of thin pork
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of *Hondashi
• 1 teaspoon of salt & pepper
• 3 x 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons of *Vegetable and fruit sauce or *Okonomiyaki sauce (I used *Vegetable and fruit sauce this time)
• 4 teaspoons of *Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 small package of *Katsuobushi
• 2 teaspoons of *Aonoriko

*Hondashi is bonito soup stock powders.
*Japanese vegetable & fruit sauce (Tonkatsu) is made of vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, onions, carrots, apples lemon, prunes and so on. It has sweet and sour flavors.
*Okonomiyaki sauce is the sauce for Okonomiyaki however, you can use it for other dishes such as stir-fry vegetables, chicken wings and so on. Key ingredients are ketchup, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. I normally buy Otafuku’s Okonomiyaki sauce on Amazon or at Asian grocery stores.
*Katsuobushi is bonito flakes.
*Aonoriko is green seaweed flakes.
-> See picture A, B, C, D and E.

Here is how to make it at home. Cooking time is about 20 - 30 minutes.

1. Beat 2 eggs at a time. Preheat 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan with medium heat. Pour eggs in the frying pan and make a round omelette as shown in the picture. After omelette’s surface is hard, remove from heat. Repeat this step for 2 servings and put them on plates. -> See picture F, G and H.

2. Shred cabbage and cut thin pork into bite size chunks.

3. Preheat vegetable oil in another frying pan with medium heat. Stir pork until it is fully cooked. -> See picture I.

4. Add cabbage in the frying pan and stir for 2-3 minutes. -> See picture J.

5. Add *Hondashi and salt & pepper. Stir for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. -> See picture K.

6. Put half ingredients from step 5. on a half bottom side of the omelette as shown in the picture. Repeat it for 2 servings. -> See picture L.

7. Fold the top side of the omelette with the bottom side of the omelette and cover the ingredients from step 6., move omelette to the center of the plate as shown in the picture. Repeat it for 2 servings. -> See picture M.

8. Add *Vegetable and fruit sauce or *Okonomiyaki sauce, *Japanese mayonnaise, sprinkle *Katsuobushi and *Aonoriko on top of the omelette.