Trader Joe's Okonomiyaki

Sonia and I both love most Japanese food: sushi, tempura, yakitori, ramen, you name it... Trader Joe's Karaage wasn't what we were expecting or hoping for, but we're grateful to TJ's for introducing us to it, and we're eager to try other versions of it.

Okonomiyaki? Never heard of that one, either. But we'll gladly try it. It's a Japanese vegetable pancake. Apparently "okonomi" means "as you like it" or "your preference." I imagine there are a few Burger Kings in Japan and they have an ad campaign that goes something like "At K of the B, you can have it okonomi." Sorry, sorry. Bad joke. <ahem>

Anyway, this particular version of okonomiyaki contains cabbage, onion, wheat flour, and yam—and it comes with a sweet soy sauce and dried skipjack tuna flakes as toppings. Interesting. We'll air fry this product at 360°F for about five or six minutes on each side. Folks online said to add Kewpie brand mayo for an authentic Japanese experience. Fortunately, Sonia loves Kewpie mayo and has a bottle on hand for just such an occasion.

The verdict? We like the taste and texture a lot. It's savory and succulent. The texture reminded me of a crab cake in a way. Sonia likened the product to a latke but with cabbage and onion rather than potato.

They actually give you enough sauce and tuna flakes in the package. The Kewpie mayo wasn't a bad pairing, but Sonia and I both prefer the product without it. It's plenty wet with the okonomi sauce alone—plus the product itself is quite moist even after a good 10-12 minutes in the air fryer.

$4.99 for the 10 oz package, found in the frozen section. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Okonomiyaki Japanese Vegetable Pancake. Sonia will go with nine out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.