Okonomiyaki is a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients similar to a pancake or pizza. Okonomi means “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki means “grilled” or “cooked” (examples: yakitori, chicken ; and yakisoba, noodles); thus, the name of this dish means “cook what you like, the way you like”. In Japan, okonomiyaki is usually associated with the Kansai or Hiroshima areas. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region.

Popular toppings

Okonomiyaki usually includes chopped cabbage and various toppings like thinly sliced pork, red ginger, yakisoba noodles, tenkasu (tempura crumbs), corn, green onion, squid, shrimp, dried bonito flakes, bean sprouts, and more.

Kansai area

Kansai (Osaka)-style okonomiyaki is a pan-fried batter cake. This is the style of okonomiyaki found throughout most of Japan. The batter is made of flour, grated yam, water or dashi, eggs and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as Welsh onion, meat (generally pork or bacon), octopus, squid, shrimp, vegetables, kimchi, mochi or cheese. Okonomiyaki is often compared to an omelette, pizza, or pancake, and as such is sometimes referred to as “Japanese pizza” or as “Japanese pancake” or in Vancouver, BC they are sometimes referred to as “Japizza’s” or “Japcakes”. Many okonomiyaki restaurants are set up as grill-it-yourself establishments, where the server produces a bowl of raw ingredients that the customer mixes and grills at tables fitted with special hot plates.

In Osaka (the largest city in the Kansai region), where the dish is said to have originated, okonomiyaki is prepared much like a pancake. The batter and other ingredients are fried on both sides on either a hot plate (teppan) or a pan using metal spatulas that are later used to slice the dish when it has finished cooking. Cooked okonomiyaki is topped with ingredients that include okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), nori, fish flakes, mayonnaise and ginger. When this style of okonomiyaki is served with sliced cabbage and a layer of fried noodles (either ramen or udon worked into the mix, it is called modanyaki (modern yaki). Negiyaki is a thinner offshoot of okonomiyaki made with a great deal of Welsh onion.

Hiroshima area

In Hiroshima, the ingredients are layered rather than mixed together. The layers are typically batter, cabbage, pork, optional items (squid, octopus, cheese, etc.), noodles (soba, udon) topped with a fried egg and a generous dollop of okonomiyaki sauce. The order of the layers may vary slightly depending on the chef’s style and preference, and ingredients will vary depending on the preference of the customer. People from Hiroshima tend to claim that this is the correct way to make okonomiyaki.

Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki Picture

Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki Picture
Photo (C) Setsuko Yoshizuka

Great nutritional balance!

Although Okonomiyaki has the image of being high in calories, in fact, one Okonomiyaki is only about 570 kcal. That’s less than 1/3 of the amount of caloric intake required by a female clerical worker. This means that making Okonomiyaki one of your daily meals is actually a great way to take in the proper number of calories you need. And, since flour is used as the base ingredient, Okonomiyaki has further merit in being a truly filling dish. Of course, that flour contains both carbohydrates, used by the body as an energy source, and protein, which builds blood and muscles. The further addition of various ingredients mixed into the batter means that Okonomiyaki supplies you with a variety of nutrients in the appropriate balance.

It is said that the goal of consuming 30 different items per day is good for the health and, since various ingredients - such as cabbage, yams, meat, fish and shellfish, and eggs - are used in each Okonomiyaki, it already gives you ten or more of those items you should have.

Cabbage makes for a healthy stomach

Even more so than many other vegetables, cabbage contains an abundance of good proteins, calcium and vitamins. Among these, it is said that vitamin U is especially good for the stomach and intestines. Moreover, the minerals it contains helps digestive absorption and also prevents nausea caused by poor digestion. In order to obtain these benefits from cabbage, it is important to consume an ample quantity. Since the volume of the cabbage is decrease when Okonomiyaki is cooked, it can easily be eaten in greater quantities than normal. It is also said that 70% of the daily requirement of vitamin C is contained in one large leaf of cabbage. That means that just one Okonomiyaki supplies you with a full day’s requirement of vitamin C.

Yams are high in nourishment

Yams are used in making the batter for Okonomiyaki. The purpose of this is to make the completed dish both fluffy and delicious, but that is not the only charm of a yam. When talking about yams, their stickiness is one distinctive feature. The elements that cause this stickiness actually works to lower blood sugar levels and is said to be useful in improving diabetes. Moreover, it can minimize inflammation in the stomach and it assists in the performance of both the stomach and intestines. A truly reliable foodstuff, yams are indeed beneficial to our health.

Contains easily ingestable dietary fiber

Dietary fiber is contained in abundance in the flour, cabbage, and yams that are used in the making of Okonomiyaki. 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. When making Okonomiyaki at home, be sure to use a variety of vegetables, increase their quantity, and try to add one special addition all your own.

Okonomiyaki in Japanese popular culture

Rumiko Takahashi’s manga Ranma ½ features a young, entrepreneurial okonomiyaki chef named Ukyo Kuonji. Ukyo wears okonomiyaki spatulas strapped to her clothing at all times, and uses the utensils for arts both culinary and martial.

In an episode of Samurai Champloo, the character Fuu orders okonomiyaki at a restaurant with cheese made from mochi.

In the manga version of Yu-Gi-Oh!, alongside with takoyaki and yaki soba, okonomiyaki is one of the few refreshments sold at the Domino High School annual school carnival as mentioned in Volume #1.

In several episodes of Azumanga Daioh, the character of Tomo harasses the Osaka-native Ayumu Kasuga about the rumored way in which Osakans enjoy their okonomiyaki (with a “full bowl of rice”), because where Tomo and the other students come from, okonomiyaki is considered a meal in and of itself, without need for an extra entree. She and her classmates clearly feel this is another bizarre Osakan trait and want to know if Kasuga (nicknamed “Osaka”) does the same. The okonomiyaki question is never answered, but like the other Osakan stereotypes, Kasuga most likely does not have a full bowl of rice with her okonomiyaki.

In Volume #2 of CLAMP’s manga Tsubasa, Syaoran and the group go to an okonomiyaki restaurant, and there is a short explanation of the dish in the translation notes in the back of the book. Kurogane attempts to flip his own okonomiyaki, but in the Kansai tradition, the chefs insist upon doing it themselves.

Sources: wikipedia, ideaosaka

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