Japanese cuisine is world-famous. It’s fresh, it’s delicious, it’s very diverse and it has elevated the aesthetics of the food to art. Being a chef in Japan is more than merely a profession, and it’s often a craft, that’s studied for years before one enters into the real world of professionals. This devotion and fidelity to culinary tradition does not remain unnoticed by the rest of the world, making local chefs and eating places world-renowned. In fact, Japan shares the first place with France for the country with most 3-starred Michelin restaurants- 29 as of 2021, and Tokyo is the city with the biggest concentration of such. But we are not going to talk about exquisite sophisticated dishes in fancy restaurants now. No, today we are talking about traditional, heart-warming, affordable, common-people food- okonomiyaki.
Usually when Japanese food is involved, most people think of sushi, ramen or tempura and that’s about it. But be honest, unless you’ve been to Japan or you are really into Japanese culture, you have probably never heard of okonomiyaki. So what is this exactly?
Well, have you ever been in a situation, when you’re eating out and you can’t decide whether you want noodles, an omelette or something rather meaty, but with healthy greens inside, if possible? Then you’d probably be excited to know that okonomiyaki is kind of the dream of the indecisive eater, because it combines all of the above and more in a perfectly balanced, filling and extremely delicious dish.
If you google it, you’d most probably see definitions like Japanese pizza or savoury pancake, but to me personally it doesn’t resemble any of these two even a bit. It feels more as if you are making a rich omelette with cheese and meat, but instead of putting the salad and carbs, which you would normally have with it, on the side, you throw those in as well. And the best part is, there are no rules for what you can put inside. In fact, that’s even hinted in the name of the dish: okonomi means "what you like" and yaki means “cooked”, usually grilled or fried (as you might have already heard in yakitori, yakisoba, yakiniku). It usually consists in batter, made of white flour, eggs and dashi; cabbage, pork, bonito flakes, okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise, but other quite common toppings include cheese, noodles, yam, green onions, beef and even squid.
Okonomiyaki may vary in flavours and ingredients in the different parts of Japan, but the two most popular types are the Osaka- and the Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, which compete with each other for the recognition as best- tasting. The difference is that while in Osaka-style okonomiyaki the ingredients are mixed and cooked together, in the Hiroshima-style one they are usually prepared separately and then layered. Also, as a rule the Hiroshima-style recipe contains noodles, but for the Osaka-style they are an optional ingredient, which changes the name of the dish to modan-yaki. I personally found both variants extremely tasty, even concluding that okonomiyaki is my favourite Japanese dish after my first visit to the Land of the rising sun, but if I have to pick, I’d say that I liked the Hiroshima style a bit better.
For those who prepare the dish at home, Japanese supermarkets provides base mixtures with different spices, dashi and flour- you only need to add eggs, mix well and then top it with your toppings of choice after cooking. In restaurants however, ordering okonomiyaki could be a cool teppanyaki experience. That’s not usually the case with Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, as due to its many layers it requires a bit more effort to prepare and therefore is cooked in the restaurant’s kitchen and then simply served in a plate. Osaka- style, on the other side, is often served or cooked on a hot steel plate in the middle of the table in front of you- the so called teppanyaki. You’d be given metal spatulas, which you can use to cut the dish, once that it is ready. That was actually the case when I first had okonomiyaki during my first visit in Japan.
I was strolling down the streets of Namba, the more traditional city centre of Osaka, with my local friends after a workshop on making Japanese wax food samples. We had made food models of takoyaki- another local culinary star, so I wanted to try it. My friends also ordered okonomiyaki and modan-yaki (the one with the noodles inside). I was still new to Japanese restaurants and while quite consumed in the lively conversation we were having, I put my bag with the freshly crafted wax models on the table in front of me. My friends quickly instructed me not to do so and before I could ask why, a man in a white uniform came and started placing food in front of us on the metal surface. In the matter of seconds, the food was cut with the before-mentioned spatulas and evenly spread between us all- it was warm, delicious okonomiyaki. I couldn’t remember the proper pronunciation of the dish almost until the end of my trip, but when the locals asked me about my favourite Japanese food, I replied with a big smile “o-nanana-yaki”.
So if you ever have the chance to try this special Japanese treat, go for it- not only will you pleasantly surprise your taste buds and fill your belly with hearty deliciousness, but you can then brag about your expertise in Japanese cuisine, which goes way beyond sushi.
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