by Saki Yokota
Okonomiyaki is one of the most popular budget-friendly foods, using a unique Japanese savory sauce.
It is very popular not only because of its professional taste at specialty restaurants, but also
because it is easy to make at home, and is sold at food stalls at fairs and other events as an easy
snack.
Kansai and Hiroshima are the two holy lands of Okonomiyaki.
(* Kansai is in the south-western Japan and the area around Osaka and Kyoto.)
“Okonomi” means “what you like.” “Okonomiyaki” means “As-you-like-it Pancake.” The name
“Okonomiyaki” means “cook what you like” or “grill to your liking.” Japanese-style pancakes made
by grilling a mixture of batter and ingredients such as chopped cabbage, meat and seafood. It's a
kind of Japanese-style savory pancake or pizza.
Kansai-style Okonomiyaki
Kansai-style Okonomiyaki is made by mixing cabbage, pork, seafood, and other
ingredients into a
batter, baking
it, and then pouring a generous amount of savory sauce over the top.
Yams are added to the batter to give it a fluffy texture, and toppings such as dried bonito flakes and
aonori
(seaweed flakes) can be used to enhance the flavor of the ingredients.
It contains a lot of ingredients, such as cabbage, pork, seafood, eggs and so on and they are mixed.
Japanese pancakes made from cabbage, meat and seafood. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese-style pancake made
from flour, eggs, cabbage, and different ingredients of your choice. It is topped with special
Okonomiyaki
sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and seaweed flakes. Okonomiyaki is often cooked on an iron plate
attached to customers’ tables. Okonomiyaki is available all over Japan. It is particularly popular
in the cities of Osaka (Kansai) and Hiroshima.
Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki
Unlike Kansai-style Okonomiyaki, which mixes ingredients into the dough, Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki
is characterized by layers of ingredients, “yakisoba” (Japanese stir-fried noodles),
and lightly loosened fried eggs.
Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki has layers of ingredients and uses stir-fried noodles.
Osaka-style Okonomiyaki is to mix all the ingredients and cook on the pan, while Hiroshima-style
is to layer it with yakisoba and a fried egg. Hiroshima-style
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake with bean sprouts, yakisoba noodles, and a fried egg,
topped with Okonomi sauce and mayonnaise. Okonomi sauce is a Japanese special sauce that is used
for the preparation of Okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yakisoba noodles.
Ingredients
Servings: 2-3 people
- 200g of cabbage
- 150g of Chinese yam
- 50g of bean sprouts
- two eggs
- 100g of sliced pork back ribs
- 80g of weak flour
- three tablespoons of ten-kasu*
(*small pieces of deep-fried dough)
- one teaspoon of instant broth granules (bonito)
- one teaspoon of vegetable oil
Toppings
- sauce to taste
- mayonnaise to taste
- bonito flakes to taste
- seaweed flakes to taste
Direction
Preperation and Cooking Time: 35 minutes
- Cut the ingredients. Chop the cabbage coarsely. Cut the bean sprouts in half.
Cut the sliced pork back ribs into 2 or 3 pieces each.
- Make the batter. Peel the skin of a yam and grate it. Put the grated yam,
flour, and instant broth granules into a bowl and mix them well.
- Mix the ingredients. Put the cabbage, bean sprouts, eggs and ten-kasu into
the bowl (Step2) and mix them lightly with a spoon.
- Grill the batter. Put some oil in the frypan or hotplate (electric griddle) and heat
it up to about 428 degree. Pour the batter of Okonomiyaki into the frypan with ladle
and spread it into a round shape (like a pancake). Grill it on medium heat. Then, put
the sliced pork on the surface. When browned, turn over and cook slowly over low heat.
And when the sliced pork turns crispy, flip it again. Grill both side on medium heat until
it gets golden brown.
- Serve on the plate. Serve Okonomiyaki on the plate and put some sauce on it.
You can add some mayonnaise, sprinkle some bonito flakes and seaweed flakes to dress it up.
Cooking Tips
- Be careful when peeling and grating yams, as they are very slippery. Also, wash off the
juice of the yam as soon as possible, as it will itch if left on the skin.
- When making the dough, mix the flour and granulated dashi well before adding the yam.
If you add the yam first, the granulated dashi will clump together and not mix well.
- After step 3, the water and flour will separate over time. Just before baking, mix
lightly for the second time from the bottom of the bowl to make it fluffy and delicious.
