From Chef Rico Mandel:
Here’s my recipe for the King’s Hawaiian #alohachallenge for the 2026 Taste of Home with Carla Hall Favorite Chef Chef Competition. It was a challenge using King’s Hawaiian Rolls as an ingredient and not making a slider or bread pudding. I also had to use a Pacific Rim-inspired ingredient I got my inspiration from some of the asian dishes I’ve made and matzo brei.
This is my Hawaiian bread-inspired version of okonomiyaki, made with King’s Hawaiian rolls, Chinese cabbage, coconut milk, green onions, sesame seeds, and garlic ginger shrimp.
The pancakes are topped with a spicy soy ginger sauce, then finished with julienned nori, enoki mushrooms, and fresh julienned mango.
This recipe makes about 5 pancakes. If you put 3 large shrimp on each pancake, you’ll need at least 15 shrimp, plus a couple of extra shrimp to taste while you’re cooking.
As always, taste as you go. The goal is to get everything tasting the way you like it.
King’s Okonomiyaki with Garlic Ginger Shrimp and Spicy Soy Ginger Sauce
Ingredients
For the Okonomiyaki Pancakes
- 7 King’s Hawaiian rolls, torn into small pieces
- 1 cup Chinese cabbage leaves, finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Coconut oil or sesame oil, for cooking
For the Garlic Ginger Shrimp
- 17 large shrimp, U-13/15 size, peeled and cleaned
- 3 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- 2 tsp fresh garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Spicy Soy Ginger Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup mirin
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp (generous) fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 tsp (generous) fresh garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp arrowroot
- 2 tsp warm water
For Garnish
- 2 sheets nori, thinly julienned into 3-inch strips
- Enoki mushrooms
- Fresh mango, finely julienned
- Additional sesame seeds, optional
- Green onions, optional
Instructions
Get Your Mise en Place Together
- Before you start cooking, get everything prepped and ready.Tear the King’s Hawaiian rolls into small pieces. Finely chop the Chinese cabbage and green onions. Mince the garlic and ginger. Clean the shrimp. Prepare the nori, enoki mushrooms, and julienned mango for garnish.This dish comes together pretty quickly once you start cooking, so it helps to have everything ready to go before the pancakes and shrimp hit the pan.
Marinate the Shrimp
- In a bowl, combine the minced ginger, minced garlic, sesame oil, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.Add the cleaned shrimp and toss until they are well coated. Cover and set aside while you take care of the rest of the recipe.Ideally, let the shrimp marinate for about 1 hour, but don’t worry if it’s a little less or a little more. The point is to let the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and chili flakes impart flavor into the shrimp while you’re working on everything else.Some cooks move faster than others, so let the shrimp marinate until you’re ready to cook them. Worst case, they can even marinate overnight in the refrigerator and they’ll be fine.
Make the Spicy Soy Ginger Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, chili flakes, minced ginger, and minced garlic.
- Warm the sauce gently over medium-low to medium heat until it starts to simmer and bubble lightly around the edges. You don’t want to bring it to a full boil.
- In a small bowl, mix the arrowroot with the warm water until smooth.
- Once the sauce is gently simmering, whisk in the arrowroot slurry. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Turn off the heat and set the sauce aside. You want the sauce ready before you cook the shrimp because once the shrimp are done, you’ll want to plate the dish right away. If the sauce cools down too much before plating, just warm it gently on the stove or microwave it for about 30 seconds.Optional: Strain the sauce to remove the pieces of garlic and ginger. Leave them in for extra flavor and texture.
Make the Okonomiyaki Pancake Mixture
- Place the torn King’s Hawaiian rolls in a large mixing bowl. Add the finely chopped Chinese cabbage and mix lightly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and coconut milk until well blended. Add the green onions, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the egg and coconut milk mixture over the bread and cabbage mixture. Mix everything together until the bread absorbs the liquid and the mixture becomes wet and somewhat batter-like. You want the mixture to hold together, but it should still be soft and moist. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Cook the Pancakes
- Heat a nonstick skillet or flat top over medium heat. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of coconut oil or sesame oil.
- Spoon the batter onto the skillet to form small rounds, about 5 inches in diameter.
- Let the pancakes cook until the bottom is golden and the top begins to firm up. Carefully flip them over and cook the other side until golden brown and cooked through.As the pancakes are finished, transfer them to a warm oven while you cook the rest.
Cook the Shrimp
- Once the pancakes are cooked and staying warm, cook the shrimp.Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the marinated shrimp and toss them quickly in the pan.
- Shrimp cook fast, so keep an eye on them. Once they turn pink and are cooked through, remove them from the heat so they don’t overcook.Taste one of the extra shrimp and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Plate and Serve
- Make sure the sauce is warm before plating. If it has cooled, warm it gently on the stove or microwave it for about 30 seconds.
- Place one okonomiyaki pancake on each plate. Top each pancake with 3 large shrimp. Spoon the warm spicy soy ginger sauce over the top.
- Garnish with enoki mushrooms, thinly julienned nori, fresh julienned mango, and additional sesame seeds or green onions if you’d like. Serve right away.
Notes
Taste as you cook and adjust things along the way. The seasoning, heat, sweetness, acidity, and saltiness should all be where you want them before the final plate comes together. The recipe gives you the structure, but the final flavor should be yours.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!