Many cities in Japan lay claim to a certain dish. In Hiroshima, Okonomiyaki is that dish. Although Okonomiyaki is available throughout Japan, it is particularly famous in the Osaka and Hiroshima region. Each place has it’s own take on okonomiyaki, which is an unique mix of ingredients. In Hiroshima, Okonomiyaki is made by layering each ingredient. Other areas in Japan mix all of the ingredients together and grill it that way, much like the Korean dish bibimbap.
Okonomiyaki’s origin actually comes from using whatever ingredients you want so there are many combinations of okonomiyaki that you can try. It’s a great dish to make when you want to use up leftover ingredients. 🙂
The main basic ingredients of okonomiyaki are the batter, cabbage, and pork. I left out the pork and it was still delicious if you want to make this vegetarian! There were a ton of ingredients to choose from. I was surprised to see that another customer had mochi in their okonomiyaki!
I went with egg, cheese and shrimp. It was so delicious! In this restaurant, they also include a layer of fried noodles. It’s kind of cool to see all of the layers of each ingredient. When the lady first started cooking it, I thought that there was way too much cabbage but it cooked down a lot. Cabbage is a good filler, I guess.
After the okonomiyaki is grilled, it’s topped with a thick brown sauce. It’s kind of similar to Worcestershire sauce but way thicker and a little sweet. Mayonnaise, seaweed flakes, pickled ginger and bonito flakes are also popular toppings after the okonomiyaki has been grilled. Mayonnaise… they put it on so many things here! I used to hate it but now I’m on board. Their mayonnaise has MSG in it, maybe that’s why? 😉
If you ever go to Hiroshima, you should definitely give okonomiyaki a try! The serving size is very large so it’s the perfect meal for two people to share.
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