Hi this is Andy. Today I want to talk to you about one of Japan's most popular
comfort foods called okonomiyaki which literally translates into "whatever you like, grilled".
The hiroshima style may seem complicated but it's actually very
easy to make. And best of all, it's delicious, hearty. It could add whatever
ingredients you'd like to it. I hope you enjoyed this taste of Japanese soul food
Early versions of okonomiyaki have existed for hundreds of years.
However the modern version that were familiar with today gained much
popularity during and after WWII when there are many food shortages and things
like rice were no longer readily available. so what they had to do was make use of what
was available which included vegetables and wheat flour. So they developed
pancake and added fillings in order to make a nutritious meal.
There are two main varieties of okonomiyaki are most popular
One is the Osaka style where
most of the ingredients are mixed into the batter and then cooked on the griddle
So a lot of people refer to this as a sort of a Japanese style cabbage pancake.
The other version is called Hiroshima style where many of the
ingredients are cooked separately and then placed on top of each other in layers.
Today I will be showing you how to make the Hiroshima style.
First we want to stir together our flour and water until it's completely smooth
We're using a griddle today but you can easily do this with two pans on the stove.
First, place a thin layer of oil on the pan, wipe off any excess with a paper towel
ladle on the batter and gently shape it into a thin crepe
sprinkle on some bonito powder
take a large handful of things sliced cabbage and place on top of the crepe
sprinkle on some of the crunchy tenkasu.
Tenkasu is essentially crumbs made from tempura batter.
You can buy this online or at your local Asian market.
We also have a video to show you how to make this at home
Add some bean sprouts.
top it off with some sliced scallions
carefully layer on some of these thinly sliced pork belly
if you can't find pork belly at your local market
it's okay to substitute with regular bacon.
then spread a little bit more of the batter
on top to keep everything together. Allow to cook for a
few minutes until the crepe is slightly browned on the bottom.
When you're ready, take two spatulas and place it under the crepe
and quickly flip it over
As the vegetables cook gently press down the pancake
As that's cooking, add a little oil on the side and then toss your yakisoba noodles
on top and give it a good stir to make it nice and fragrant.
Yaki soba noodles are yellow wheat based noodles
typically use for stir frying.
these noodles can easily be found at your local Asian market
either and refrigerated or freezer aisles
Once your noodles have become slightly crunchy, add some of the
okonomiyaki sauce on top, about tablespoon or so. Okonomiyaki sauce is a
sweet and savory fruit based sauce that we'll be using to top our okonomiyaki with,
as well as to mix it into our yakisoba noodles. My favorite brand is
called OtaJoy's Original sauce made by Otafuku. But there are several
different types of okonomiyaki sauce available online or at your local Asian market.
and then give it a good stir
allow it to cook a little bit more and then shape into a circle about the size of your crepe.
At this point, you can add whatever other ingredients that you like
Today we'll be using some sauteed shrimp. you can add other ingredients like meats,
vegetables. Some people even add mochi or cheese.
Once the vegetables have finished cooking,
take your spatulas and gently place your crepe on top of the yakisoba noodles
now add a thin layer of oil to the other side
wiping the excess with a paper towel.
Add your egg and use your spatula to puncture the yolk
and then spread it around until you get about the
same size as you crepe. Now carefully place your okonomiyaki on top of the egg
and we're gonna do one more flip
now it's time for the toppings. We're gonna add a generous amount of
okonomiyaki sauce, some mayonnaise Japanese Mayo is a little different from
the western-style mayo and that is a little bit more savoury do the
glutamates that are included in it that given its great mouth flavor and it is
made with only egg yolks as well as rice or apple cider vinegar.
Some powdered seaweed called aonori
and some scallions
and there you have it okonomiyaki!
You can either serve this on a plate or eat it right off the griddle
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And as always, eat, learn, love!