I’ve never had okonomiyaki. One day, Iris and I will take a father-daughter trip to Japan, and we will feast on sushi, go to an eel restaurant, visit yakitori and okonomiyaki stands, and bring some plastic food home as souvenirs.
Okonomiyaki is a pancake. You mix up a batter that contains flour, yam, and (this being Japanese food) powdered fish products. Add some cabbage and scallions and pork, and you’ve got a basic one, though of course there are countless variations. There’s a ketchup-like sauce that always goes with it, and kewpie mayo is optional.
Again, this is all hearsay. I’ve never had okonomiyaki because it’s never really come up and I’ve never made an effort to go out in search of it. Once I came across an okonomiyaki stand at Ranch 99 supermarket in Richmond, BC, but I’d already had dim sum at Sun Sui Wah and there was a big line.
Anyway, after I had lunch at Samurai Noodle today, something put okonomiyaki into my mind. Probably it was the fact that they’re both discussed on this eGullet thread. So when I got to Uwajimaya, I picked up an Otafuku Okonomiyaki Kit. I bought the kit because it promised instructions in four languages. And did it ever deliver:
Let’s make Okonomiyaki with your family!
Hello people of the world! Are you looking for fun meals for your home? In Japan there is a fun food for family and friends when they gather. It is Okonomiyaki! Okonomiyaki developed from an Edo era snack. These days, Japanese add a variety of their favorite ingredients to create the style of Okonomiyaki that is a popular, nutritious, and fun meal. Everyone can enjoy an “Okonomiyaki Party” at home! You cannot help having one!
Of course, you will need:
15cm of pork.
It’s fair to say that there is nothing the makers of the Otafuku Okonomiyaki Kit could have done to make me more excited about cooking this up tomorrow. It looks like the instructions call for thinly sliced pork belly like they sell at Uwajimaya, but I didn’t get any, so I’m going to substitute bacon. I assume this won’t ruin it. Seriously: cabbage, scallions, pork, flatbread. Why have okonomiyaki and I not hooked up before?
Apparently, okonomiyaki figures in a popular manga work, Ranma 1/2:
> Rumiko Takahashi’s manga _Ranma 1/2_ features a young, entrepreneurial okonomiyaki chef named Ukyo Kuonji. Ukyo wears okonomiyaki spatulas strapped to her clothing at all times, and uses the utensils for arts both culinary and martial.
(via Wikipedia)
While I was waiting to check out, I ran into my friend Sara Dickerman, food columnist for Slate and Seattle Magazine. She looked into my basket, on top of which was a big package of pork fat. “Ooh, I need some of that,” she said. “Where did you find it?” Last month, Sara wrote an article which Slate teased as Why food writers are obsessed with pigs.
I had okonomiyaki in Tokyo back in October, outside of Senso-ji, a major shrine in Asakusa. I didn’t really know what it was, other than “bunch of yummy stuff pancake,” but it was enjoyable and I would do it again. (Actually, I look forward to doing it again in April.)
I think it was my second favorite meal in Tokyo, after the noodles at Sakata’s, near Ginza. But maybe that’s just because everyone was so friendly and welcoming there. Still, I remember the fishy, salty, porky, slightly slippery goodness that was the okonomiyaki.
Bacon should be just fine. After all, the point is to cook what you like, just like the wiki article says.
I lived in Hiroshima, one of the most famous places for okonomiyaki. It’s one of my favorites!
Do you have one of those non-stick table top griddles? That’s actually the most perfect vessel to make your okonomiyaki on.
You don’t even really need a mix… just flour, nagaimo or yamaimo (these are starchy tubers that are available at Uwajimaya, at Korean markets as “ma”, and at most of the Town & Country Markets/Central Markets), egg, and depending on how cheap you are about the nagaimo, water or soup stock.
My favorite version is with kizami-shouga (ginger slices), cheese, and cut mochi. Sometimes I use a little kimchi.
It’s better if you buy some tenkasu and toss them in the okonomiyaki just before grilling. Tenkasu are little fried flour balls, either plan or sometimes squid-flavored.
Nonstick pan or pancake griddle is best. After the cabbage, egg, and “kiji” (batter/dough), you can put whatever you want in there.
You should preferably top it with Japanese mayonnaise, okonomi sauce (basically a thickened fruity worcester sauce), shaved bonito, and small unseasoned ao-nori flakes (green nori flakes).
Here are two of mine:
Mochi cheese
http://blog.jagaimo.com/archive/2005/09/15/1983.aspx
Kabocha cheese
http://blog.jagaimo.com/archive/2005/12/19/2111.aspx
Jason, thanks–this is a great help. The kit I got did include squid-flavored tenkasu and nori flakes.