Simple and Tasty Osaka Style Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き）

Today’s recipe is Okonomiyaki, a classic Japanese street food!

What is Okonomiyaki?

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake type dish made with a batter and filled with meat and vegetables. It’s usually topped with a delicious fruity Okonomiyaki sauce and drizzled with mayonnaise.

Okonomiyaki（お好み焼き）is mostly popular in Osaka and Hiroshima and they are always arguing which one is authentic and better.

There’s no compromise in this argument.

Osaka style Okonomiyaki vs Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki

The main difference between Osaka-style Okonomiyaki and Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki are

• Osaka-style: Ingredients are mixed beforehand, meat and cabbage are the main ingredients, sauce is more savory
• Hiroshima-style: Ingredients are added one by one, includes egg noodles, sauce is sweeter

Well, there’s no deciding which is better for outsiders like me (I’m from Aichi so I don’t need to be loyal), thank god I can appreciate both of them!

One of the beauties of Japanese food is that each region has different dishes and unique styles of food. So if the battle between Osaka and Hiroshima goes on forever, that’s fine with a foodie like me! They’re both beautiful!

I’m sorry to the people of Hiroshima, but today I’m going to write a recipe for Osaka (Kansai)-style Okonomiyaki from scratch.

Simply because it’s easier to explain, so please don’t mind me.

Ingredients for Okonomiyaki

Oh by the way, Okonomi（お好み）means “anything as you wish” so you can put anything you like in there.

The most basic one mainly contains pork and cabbage but lots of restaurants have interesting twists to it such as adding:

• Seafood
• Cheese
• Mochi (Rice cake)
• Udon
• Sweet corn
• Agedama (deep fried batter crumbs)
• Sakura ebi (tiny dried shrimps)
• Snacks like crisps (potato chips for our US visitors!)
• Avocado…the list goes on

Because you can add anything you like, you can also take out the meat and make it vegetarian! So don’t feel like you have to stick with the recipe, you can be creative and liberate yourself!

Meanwhile, I will tell you the basic recipe, enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How healthy is okonomiyaki?

It uses fair amount of oil, pork belly, mayonnaise…etc so it’s not a healthy dish but according to Japanese okonomiyaki association, it’s a nutritionally well balanced dish.

What is okonomiyaki sauce made of?

In my recipe, I use:

• Worcester Sauce
• Ketchup
• Honey
• Soy sauce

In Japanese homes, we usually use pre-made bottled ones.

Osaka Style Okonomiyaki (大阪お好み焼き)

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• Author: Yuto Omura
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 servings 1x

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Description

How to make Osaka Style Okonomiyaki without using specialist okonomiyaki flour (大阪お好み焼き)

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 100g plain flour (see note)
• 100ml dashi stock or fish stock
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cabbage
• 60g unsmoked streaky bacon (Or thinly sliced pork belly if you have access)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp bonito flake (optional)
• 1 tsp parsley

Sauce

• 1 tbsp Worcester Sauce
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce

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Instructions

Prep the sauce first

1. Mix 1 tbsp Worcester sauce, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp soy sauce in a small bowl.

Next the batter

1. Roughly cut up the cabbage.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, stock, egg and cabbage together along with any other additional ingredients you wish to add EXCEPT the meat.
3. Heat up the frying pan on medium-high and pour in approx 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.
4. Once the oil is hot, add half the mixture to the frying pan, lay the slices of streaky bacon on the top of the wet mixture.
5. Fry until the bottom starts to become brown and crispy, then carefully slide it out onto a plate whilst still facing upwards.
6. Add the next 1 tbsp of oil to pan and lower the heat.
7. Crack an egg into the pan and flip the half cooked okonomiyaki back into the pan with the meat side facing down.
8. Put a lid on the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on a medium-low heat.
9. Pierce the middle with a toothpick to make sure it’s cooked. If the toothpick doesn’t come out clean, it’s not quite ready and you need to continue to cook on a low heat, checking regularly.
10. Pour half of the sauce on top of the okonomiyaki and use a pastry brush or spoon to spread it evenly over the top. You can do this while it’s still in the pan.
11. Carefully move the cooked okonomiyaki to a plate.
12. Drizzle with mayonnaise (I recommend using a squeezy bottle) and bonito flakes if you have them.
13. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
14. Repeat the same process again with the remaining half of mixture and sauce.
15. Enjoy!

Notes

• If you can get okonomiyaki flour, the recipe becomes a lot easier and there is no need for the stock. Check your local Asian supermarket.
• If you can get hold of these Japanese ingredients, it is also common to add agedama (crumbs of deep fried batter), sakura ebi (tiny dried shrimps)
• Other great additions to okonomiyaki are cheese, kimchi and spring onion!
• This recipe makes two okonomiyaki, which should be enough for 3-4 people.

• Category: Classics
• Method: Frying
• Cuisine: Japanese

Keywords: How to make Japanese Okonomiyaki,Osaka style Okonomiyaki recipe,How to make Okonomiyaki sauce,Japanese okonomiyaki ingredients,Japanese savory pancake,okonomiyaki flour substitute