Food & Drink
Okonomiyaki
お好み焼きおこのみやきokonomiyakiCabbage, batter and the hot iron griddle
Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake of wheat batter and shredded cabbage with meat or seafood, cooked on an iron griddle and topped with a thick sweet sauce, mayonnaise, dried seaweed and bonito flakes. Its two great styles are the mixed Osaka type and the layered Hiroshima type with noodles.
The name means 'grilled as you like it', and the dish is as flexible as it sounds. Its ancestors were thin, flour-based snacks cooked on griddles for children in the early twentieth century, such as dondon-yaki in Tokyo and issen yōshoku, 'one-sen Western food', in Kyoto and Osaka, topped with a little spring onion and Worcestershire-style sauce.
In the hungry years after the Second World War, cheap wheat flour and cabbage made these pancakes a filling meal, and okonomiyaki shops multiplied. Osaka and Hiroshima developed distinct styles, and each defends its own as the real okonomiyaki.
Osaka style
In the Kansai or Osaka style, batter made with flour, dashi, egg and grated yam (nagaimo) is mixed with plenty of shredded cabbage and other ingredients such as pork belly, squid or prawns, then poured onto the griddle as a thick round pancake and cooked on both sides. Many restaurants let guests cook it themselves at a griddle built into the table.
Finished okonomiyaki is brushed with a thick, fruity sauce, drizzled with mayonnaise and sprinkled with green seaweed powder (aonori) and bonito flakes, which move in the heat. Osaka's food culture of konamon, 'flour things', also includes takoyaki, batter balls with octopus.
Butatama
豚玉butatamaThe basic Osaka okonomiyaki with pork and egg.
Modanyaki
モダン焼きmodanyakiOsaka okonomiyaki with fried noodles added.
Negiyaki
ねぎ焼きnegiyakiA thin pancake packed with green onion instead of cabbage, eaten with soy sauce and lemon.
- たこ焼きtakoyaki
Balls of batter with octopus, cooked in a moulded griddle; Osaka's best-known street snack.
Hiroshima style
Hiroshima okonomiyaki is built in layers rather than mixed. A thin crêpe of batter is spread on the griddle, then heaped with a large pile of cabbage, bean sprouts, tempura crumbs and pork. It is flipped so the cabbage steams, set on a layer of fried noodles (soba or udon), and finished with a thin fried egg. The whole stack is covered in sauce.
The style took shape in the postwar years, when street stalls fed a city rebuilding after the atomic bombing, and the Hiroshima people call it simply okonomiyaki. Hiroshima has one of the highest concentrations of okonomiyaki restaurants in Japan, and several buildings near the city centre house dozens of counters.
- 広島風お好み焼きHiroshima-fū okonomiyaki
Layered okonomiyaki with noodles; called 'Hiroshima-style' outside the city.
Soba-iri
そば入りsoba-iriWith fried wheat noodles, the standard choice; udon-iri uses thick udon instead.
Monjayaki and regional variations
Tokyo's monjayaki uses a much runnier batter. Chopped ingredients are first fried on the griddle and arranged in a ring, the liquid batter is poured into the middle, and everything is mixed and scraped into a thin, sticky layer that diners eat directly off the griddle with tiny spatulas. Tsukishima, in Chuo ward, is known for its street of monjayaki restaurants.
Many other regions have their own versions, from Hiroshima-influenced styles around the Seto Inland Sea to local types made with regional ingredients.
- もんじゃ焼きmonjayaki
Runny batter fried with chopped ingredients; eaten with small spatulas straight from the griddle.
How it is eaten
Okonomiyaki is traditionally eaten directly from the hot griddle, cut into wedges or squares with a metal spatula (kote in Osaka, hera in Hiroshima) and eaten from the spatula or transferred to a small plate. Chopsticks are always available. At restaurants where guests cook for themselves, staff will usually help or demonstrate the first time.
Okonomiyaki is casual food, often shared by a table and accompanied by beer. It is also a favourite at festival food stalls.
Teppan
鉄板teppanThe thick iron griddle on which okonomiyaki is cooked and kept hot.
Kote / hera
コテ・ヘラkote, heraSmall metal spatula for cutting and eating.
Aonori
青のりaonoriPowdered green seaweed sprinkled on top.
- 鰹節katsuobushi
Bonito flakes that curl and 'dance' in the rising heat.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Osaka and Hiroshima okonomiyaki?
In Osaka style, cabbage and other ingredients are mixed into the batter and cooked as a thick pancake. In Hiroshima style, the ingredients are layered on a thin crêpe and stacked on fried noodles with an egg.
Is okonomiyaki vegetarian?
Usually not: the batter often contains dashi, and bonito flakes are sprinkled on top. Some restaurants can make it without meat and fish if asked.
Is okonomiyaki a Japanese pizza?
It is sometimes described that way, but okonomiyaki is closer to a savoury pancake or omelette with cabbage. It is cooked on a griddle, not baked.
What is monjayaki?
Monjayaki is a Tokyo dish related to okonomiyaki, made with a runny batter that cooks into a thin, sticky layer eaten straight off the griddle.
Related
Sources
- 1.Osaka Info – Official Osaka Travel Guide (opens in a new tab) — Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau
- 2.Dive! Hiroshima – Hiroshima Prefecture Tourism (opens in a new tab) — Hiroshima Prefectural Tourism Association
- 3.Japan National Tourism Organization – Official travel guide (opens in a new tab) — JNTO