Everything about Okonomiyaki totally explained
is a
Japanese dish consisting of a pan-fried batter cake and various ingredients.
Okonomi means "what you like" or "what you want", and
yaki means "grilled" or "cooked" (cf.
yakitori and
yakisoba); thus, the name of this dish means "cook what you like". In
Japan, okonomiyaki is mainly associated with
Kansai or
Hiroshima areas, but is widely available throughout the country. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region.
Kansai area
Kansai (
Osaka)-style okonomiyaki is a pan-fried batter cake. This is the style of okonomiyaki found throughout most of Japan. The batter is made of flour, grated
yam, water or
dashi, eggs and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion,
meat (generally pork or bacon),
octopus,
squid,
shrimp,
vegetables,
kimchi,
mochi or
cheese. Okonomiyaki is sometimes compared to an
omelette,
pizza, or
pancake, and may be referred to as "Japanese pizza" or "Japanese pancake".
Most okonomiyaki restaurants are set up as grill-it-yourself establishments, where the server produces a bowl of raw ingredients that the customer mixes and grills at tables fitted with
teppan, or special hotplates. They may also have a diner style counter where the cook will prepare the dish right in front of the customers.
In
Osaka (the largest city in the
Kansai region), where this dish is said to have originated, okonomiyaki is prepared much like a
pancake. The batter and other ingredients are fried on both sides on either a hot plate (
teppan) or a pan using metal
spatulas that are later used to slice the dish when it has finished cooking. Cooked okonomiyaki is topped with ingredients that include okonomiyaki sauce (similar to
Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter),
aonori (seaweed flakes),
katsuobushi (fish flakes), Japanese
mayonnaise and pickled ginger (
beni shoga). When this style of okonomiyaki is served with a layer of fried noodles (either
yakisoba or
udon) it's called . is a thinner offshoot of okonomiyaki made with a great deal of
scallions.
Hiroshima area
In
Hiroshima, the ingredients are layered rather than mixed together. The layers are typically batter, cabbage, pork, optional items (squid, octopus, cheese, etc.), noodles (
soba,
udon) topped with a fried egg and a generous dollop of okonomiyaki sauce. The amount of cabbage used is usually 3 - 4 times the amount of Osaka style. It starts out piled very high and is generally pushed down as the cabbage cooks. The order of the layers may vary slightly depending on the chef's style and preference, and ingredients will vary depending on the preference of the customer. People from Hiroshima tend to claim that this is the correct way to make okonomiyaki. This style is also called
Hiroshima-yaki.
Other areas
In
Tokyo,
Tsukishima town is popular for both Okonomiyaki and
Monjayaki. Monjayaki is a liquid, runny variant of okonomiyaki. The main street of this town is called Monja-street.
In
Hamamatsu,
takuan (a Japanese pickle) is mixed in okonomiyaki.
In
Okinawa, okonomiyaki is called
hirayachi (ヒラヤーチー) and is thinner than in other areas. People cook it at home, so there are no hirayachi restaurants in
Okinawa, although okonomiyaki restaurants can be found in a few places.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Okonomiyaki'.
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