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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", or even "Osaka soul food"[1].
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 is called modanyaki (モダン焼き?) "modern yaki". Negiyaki (ねぎ焼き?) 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 (yakisoba, 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.[2]
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.
See also
- Japanese cuisine
- Hirayachi - Okinawa
- Monjayaki
- Teppanyaki
References
- ^ Hanamiweb [1]>
- ^ Food For Thought Okonomiyaki vs. Monjayaki!
External links
- Rick LaPointe, Okonomi-yaki, as you like it, and you will. The Japan Times: July 28, 2002
- Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (Photos)
- Fukuoka-style Okonomiyaki (Photo)
- Michan Okonomiyaki Hiroshima - English menu
- Otafuku Foods - a manufacturer of okonomiyaki sauce. Recipes of Hiroshima- and Kansai-styles, and monjayaki.
