Okonomiyaki

The okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, okonomiyaki^?) is a Japanese food that consists of a dough with various ingredients cooked on the grill. The word okonomiyaki is formed by the honorific o (お, 'o'^?), konomi (好み, taste^?) and yaki (焼き, grilled^?), meaning "cooked (grilled) to your liking" (in reference to the client, or it can also be (food) egg and julienned cabbage, along with other ingredients depending on the type of reference to the cook).

Features

The cooked dough consists of a base of flour, grated yam, water, desired okonomiyaki egg. Some common ingredients are scallions, meat, squid, shrimp, vegetables, kimchi, mochi, and cheese. Once the okonomiyaki is ready, it is covered with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and katsuobushi. These ingredients are provided separately to be used according to the consumer's taste.

Depending on the restaurant, the preparation of okonomiyaki is carried out by the cook in front of the customer on a griddle, or by the diners themselves, to whom the ingredients are provided. In the latter case, several bowls are served, one with the cabbage preparation that forms the base of the okonomiyaki, and the rest with the chosen ingredients. To cook the okonomiyaki you have to pour the ingredients onto the griddle, cook it on both sides using two spatulas, one large (to be able to turn it over) and the other small (to handle it easily), and once ready, cover it with the sauce and the rest of the ingredients mentioned above.

Okonomiyaki is frequently compared to omelets, pizza and pancakes due to the variety of ingredients it can contain, and is even called Japanese pizza. It is a food of the popular classes.

In Japan, okonomiyaki is generally associated with the Kansai region, where it is believed to be its place of origin, and Hiroshima. In any case, it is considered one of the typical dishes of Osaka, along with takoyaki, and it is in this same city where we can find the greatest variety of restaurants specializing in okonomiyaki.

Depending on the region there are different variations. A common practice in Hiroshima is modanyaki (モダン焼き, 'modanyaki'^?) which includes yakisoba noodles (焼きそば, yakisoba^?) prepared separately among the ingredients. There is a similar dish, originating in Tokyo, called monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き, 'monjayaki'^?).