Okonomiyaki Authentic Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is traditionally in okonomiyaki? ›

The batter is made of flour, grated nagaimo (a long type of yam), dashi or water, eggs, shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion, meat (usually thinly sliced pork belly or American bacon), octopus, squid, shrimp, vegetables, konjac, mochi, or cheese.

The word "okonomiyaki" is derived from "okonomi" meaning "as you like" and "yaki" meaning "grilled. It's commonly referred to as being a Japanese pancake. Accurate to its name, okonomiyaki can be served with a variety of toppings which include everything from meat and seafood to vegetables and cheese.

There are two significantly different types of Okonomiyaki. First, the Kansai or Osaka style, in which the ingredients are all mixed into a batter and then grilled. Second, the Hiroshima style, in which a small crepe-like pancake is grilled and then other ingredients are layered on top.

In Osaka style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are mixed together and cooked together. In Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are layered almost like a cake. Soba or udon noodles are also added to Hiroshima-yaki in another layer as well. (Although they do add noodles to okonomiyaki in Osaka.

Bonito flakes - known as katsuobushi in Japanese - are a strange food upon first sight. They are known to move or dance when used as a topping on foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki. It can be an odd sight upon first viewing if moving food makes you squeamish.

Along with takoyaki, this dish may rightly be described as Osaka soul food. While both dishes involve dissolving flour in dashi, okonomiyaki includes cabbage—a non-negotiable ingredient—usually along with pork, as well as whichever additional ingredients you like.

A close cousin to okonomiyaki is hiroshimayaki, or Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

A type of pan-fried batter or savoury pancake, monjayaki is Tokyo's answer to okonomiyaki, the iconic dish of Hiroshima and Osaka. Monjayaki retains a slightly runny appearance much like melted cheese even when cooked – but the delicious concoction tastes better than it looks.

Okonomiyaki, hailing from Osaka, features a thick batter loaded with cabbage and ingredients mixed together and cooked like a pancake. Monjayaki, from Tokyo, stands out with a thinner, runnier batter and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Ingredients are first cooked separately, and then the batter is added.

This fiber increases performance in the stomach and intestines, removes excessive fat, and works to expel cholesterol and salt from the body. Dietary fiber is easily ingested by eating Okonomiyaki, and it is great for your overall health.

What kind of yam is used in okonomiyaki? ›

Yamaimo is Japanese mountain yam, a long root vegetable with thin, light brown skin and a slippery internal texture. (It can be omitted.) Hondashi is granulated dashi powder. (Water can be used in its place.)

Monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き, often called simply "monja") is a type of Japanese pan-fried batter, popular in the Kantō region, similar to okonomiyaki, but using different liquid ingredients.

Kansai style

Kansai-style okonomiyaki is the base on which other styles begin. A simple combination of cabbage, flour and egg cooked on an iron griddle and then topped with sliced pork and savory-sweet barbecue sauce, drizzled in Japanese mayonnaise and sprinkled with Aonori—powdered dried seaweed.

Nappa cabbage has a more prounounced flavor and softer texture while round cabbage has crunchy neutral flavor and texture. But you can throw whatever you want in Okonomiyaki. There is no rule for that, it just ingredients mixed with batter finished with the typical sauce.

Okonomiyaki is popular all over Japan, particularly in the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, and in Hiroshima, some 300km down the Inland Sea coast from Osaka.

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is a popular pan-fried dish that consists of batter and cabbage. Selected toppings and ingredients are added which can vary greatly (anything from meat and seafood to wasabi and cheese). This variability is reflected in the dish's name; "okonomi" literally means "to one's liking".

OtaJoy's label lists sugar, white vinegar, molasses, salt, tomato paste, apple, carrot, peach, dates, onions, raisins, mushrooms, garlic, kelp and spices (you didn't think we were going to give away our secrets, now did you?) among other ingredients.

Standard Osaka-style okonomiyaki is made with flour and eggs, mixed with thinly cut cabbage, but really anything goes! Additional ingredients can be anything from seafood, pork, chicken or vegetables, to a combination of any or all for the extra hungry food adventurers.

Okonomiyaki originated from a thin pancake from the Edo period called funoyaki that was served at Buddhist ceremonies. Later, during and after the war, when food was scarce in Japan, it became more and more common to eat wheat pancakes made with whatever was available on hand to mix into them.