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.

We recommend using rice flour mixed with nagaimo. If you can't find mountain yam, use eggs as a thickening agent.

Shavings of smoked bonito called katsuobushi are placed on the okonomiyaki with wooden pincers. Because of the heat, the fish shavings move and contort when put on the okonomiyaki. Small flakes of aonori, a dried seaweed, are sprinkled over the okonomiyaki with a little spoon.

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.

Okonomiyaki in its present form dates back to the period following the Second World War. Adding cabbage in order to make the dish more voluminous, it was at this point that it became known as a main course rather than a snack.

Who invented okonomiyaki? ›

It's difficult to pinpoint the origin of okonomiyaki. The idea of a grilled pancake goes as far back as the Buddhist ceremonies during the Edo period (1683- 1868).

Similar to a pancake, Kansai-style okonomiyaki (関西風お好み焼き, かんさいふう・おこのみやき), also known as Osaka-style okonomiyaki, contains several ingredients mixed together in a bowl and then fried on a hot plate or frying pan. One key ingredient is okonomiyaki flour, which consists of flour, dashi, and other seasonings.

Okonomiyaki is traditionally made with dashi, the essential Japanese soup stock, so if you have it, please use it in place of the vegetable stock. Half a regular-sized cabbage is all you'll need for this recipe and you could also substitute with purple cabbage.

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.

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.)

The most common ingredients are flour, eggs, salt, baking powder, tempura scraps, cabbage, a protein of choice (octopus, pork belly, etc.), and okonomiyaki sauce. If you can't find okonomiyaki sauce at your local store, you can make a version at home which uses Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and ketchup.

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.

A side-by-side taste test of tonkatsu sauce and okonomiyaki sauce will tell you that tonkatsu sauce has a lot more twang and bite to it, more similar to to Worcestershire sauce, while okonomiyaki sauce is much fruitier and sweet.