What is Okonomiyaki?

When foreigners come to Japan, there is one Japanese dish that surprises them with the gap between its appearance and taste. That is Okonomiyaki.
It is a fluffy dough made of mixed vegetables, topped with thick okonomiyaki sauce, dried bonito flakes and mayonnaise.
Unlike what is served in Japanese fine dining restaurants, okonomiyaki is frequently eaten in restaurants and as an ordinary home-style dish.
Have you ever had okonomiyaki?
If you haven’t, give it a try. I’ll introduce the recipe and ingredients later!

There are two types. Kansai-style and Hiroshima-style.

There are two types. They are Hiroshima-style and Kansai-style.
Although the finished products look similar, they are actually quite different. Hiroshima-style is also known as Hiroshima-yaki.

What is Kansai-style okonomiyaki?

Kansai-style is made by mixing all the ingredients before grilling. This is where Kansai-style differs from Hiroshima-style. Mix everything into the dough, including cabbage and tenkasu, place it on the griddle, place pork on top, and when it is cooked to a certain degree, turn it over and cook it so that it is evenly cooked throughout. Kansai-style is characterized by its fluffiness. To make it even fluffier, yams are sometimes kneaded into the batter.

Kansai-style varieties

There are many different types of Kansai-style.
We have picked up a few typical types!

Butatama 豚玉

Pork balls are a staple of the okonomiyaki menu.
Instead of mixing them into the okonomiyaki batter, pork is cooked with it when it is baked.
Basically, many okonomiyaki dishes contain pork, making it the most common menu item.

Negi-yaki ねぎ焼き

Negi-yaki, which literally means “leeks” in Japanese, is cooked with a large amount of green onions, unlike okonomiyaki, which has no cabbage. The grilling method is the same as Kansai-style okonomiyaki, where all ingredients are mixed together, and like okonomiyaki, it may be eaten with sauce. It is often eaten with soy sauce as it goes very well with soy sauce.

Modan-yaki モダン焼き

Some people may look at modern yaki and think that it is not different from Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Although the two share the same noodle filling, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is baked in layers, whereas Modern-yaki is made by placing the noodles on top of the Kansai-style okonomiyaki batter and covering with an egg. When comparing the finished products, it is sometimes difficult to tell which is modern yaki and which is Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, but actually the way they are cooked is different.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki aka Hiroshima-yaki

Unlike Kansai-style okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki does not mix all the ingredients. How it is made is that the dough is baked into a round crepe shape, and basic ingredients such as cabbage, bean sprouts, and pork belly are added on top.
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki also features noodles among the ingredients.
Then it is flipped over and the cabbage is steamed between the dough and the griddle to bring out the sweetness of the cabbage. The okonomiyaki, initially tall with ingredients, gradually decreases in volume as it is baked and takes on an easy-to-eat shape.
Standard Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is cooked in this way, but there are original versions in various regions.

Fuchu-yaki 府中焼き

Standard Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki meat is pork belly, but minced meat is used in Fuchu-yaki. Today, okonomiyaki is eaten as a side dish or main course, but in the past, it was eaten as a snack for children and originated from the use of inexpensive minced meat. Compared to pork belly, minced meat contains more fat, and the oil that oozes out when heated causes the noodles, cabbage, and dough to become crispy.

Syouhara-yaki 庄原焼き

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki gives a strong impression of noodles, but Shobara-yaki is a rare okonomiyaki that contains rice instead of noodles. Another feature of this okonomiyaki is that it is eaten with ponzu (Japanese citrus juice) instead of the standard sauce that is applied to okonomiyaki. This is a refreshing change from the thick image of okonomiyaki.

Mihara-yaki 三原焼き

Mihara-yaki is characterized by the presence of chicken motsu in the meat. Chicken motsu has been used in the Mihara region because chicken farming was prosperous in the area and because it is cheaper and more readily available than pork. The availability of fresh and inexpensive chicken motsu is a feature unique to Mihara.

Monjayaki in Tokyo

There is a food that looks similar to okonomiyaki but is completely different.
That is monjayaki.
Monjayaki is a dish in which ingredients, mainly flour, are cooked on a griddle, and it originated in Tokyo. Compared to okonomiyaki, monjayaki uses more water in the dough and mixes in seasonings and sauces.
It is generally eaten with a small spatula while sizzling on the teppan.