Negi-yaki (ねぎ焼き, scallion pancake with pork)

Negi-yaki begins with an almost foolish amount of scallion. You look at the bowl and think it can't possibly hold together. It will. The batter is only there to bind the negi, not bury it, and that is the first secret.

This is Osaka comfort food, close kin to okonomiyaki but leaner in spirit. Cabbage gives sweetness and bulk; negi gives perfume, green bite, and a little snap under the teeth. We cook it thin enough that the scallions soften without going dull, then brush the surface with soy sauce and a squeeze of lemon. No thick sweet sauce here. Nothing hidden.

Use fresh, firm scallions with bright green tops and no tired slime at the cut ends. Slice them finely so they tangle into the batter and cook quickly. The one detail that decides the dish is restraint with the batter: too much flour makes a pancake with scallions in it; just enough flour makes negi-yaki.