This time we go to Hiroshima for lunch
The city is famous for its streetcar, Peace Park
museum and a-bomb dome and the lively HonDori shopping arcade
but when it comes to getting a great Hiroshima style meal
look no further than OKONOMI MURA, right in the center of the city
Its stocked with three floors of OKONOMIYAKI shops
that make the famous layer Japanese pancake
OKONOMIYAKI is considered Hiroshima's soul food
It's that good,so I came to experiment
Is it simple enough for someone like me to make ?
SHINCHAN's on the second floor let me have a go at it, and I brought a friend
to keep me honest. Ingredients ready? batter check
cabbage check! Moyashi (bean sprouts) check
Tempura bits, check!
seaweed check! NEGI (green onion) check!
Tamago(eggs) check!
soba noodle boilers running on high,check and check
newbie OKONOMIYAKI Chef
oh yeah! He's ready! Its go time!
on the hot grills
make a beautiful circular pancake I
looks easy enough
the cabbage goes on top of the pancake
Cabbage is important
Moyashi! Moyashi bean sprouts on top of that
That is all volume! A mountain of vegetables already
NEGI (green onions)
green onions and seasoning
then a secret ingredient
So this is a seaweed
And it's famous for this shop
This dried graded kelp add some seaside taste
to the Okonomiyaki
best of all, it's super healthy
Strips of pork!
top it off with a little extra batter
just a little
Ahh, waiting
This is the hard part cuz I'm really hungry
I wanna make her happy
Hard to wait
The first challenge
a 180 degree flick we've added a lot of weight to this
a wipe out is always possible with unskilled hands
So now we're gonna flip it
its kinda big I'm not sure how this is gonna go
the pressure's on
no time to celebrate
it's time to prep the SOBA noodles
everything must be fresh
Whilel we start this,
those veggies and pork strips have time to grill
mix the SOBA
smash it down
there are a few more layers still to come
it's gotten flat
here comes the soba
spread it out and grill with some oil
yakisoba
oil
so that SOBA has gotten harder because
it's been grilling on it. I didn't expect that
Usually with Yakisoba there's a sauce and mix it around and it stays
well..lsoft
And here when grill it on the top makes it a little crunchy
One more time?
die!
On the SOBA!
this is like a sandwich
OK, ready....
voila! OHHHH
All of it!
it all came onto the...
I was really surprised at how easily it all came up
and held together! Must be those pork strips underneath
keep it clean and pretty there are customers here
egg-time
if he can do it one fisted so can I
honestly
it's harder than it looks
Oh well..
put it on..
I think there are already seven layers stacked up
so flip it!
Thank you...
now the famous okonomiyaki sauce
it's a little salty a little sweet and real tangy
You can never have enough of the sauce
Yeah, wild west! Cowboy! I'm American!
We use a lot of sauce where I come from.
Add some seaweed flakes for color
and we're done!
Finished!
Toppings are extra
let's go for some extreme NEGI and pink ginger for color
then serve it up to the customer
it's pretty heavy
a work of art
Hiroshima's okonomiyaki is very different compared to Osaka's
Osaka mixes it all together like a pancake
Hiroshima's is layered, offering a more complex taste
What do the locals think okonomiyaki?
we love, ofcourse
a lot of veggies and we love the sauce on it.
A lot of taste in our mouth
It is fun
Cooking is fun, eating is fun
Carp is a shop next door
a popular hangout for Hiroshima Carp baseball fans
They also have a recommended unique ingredient IKATEN
its tempera squid and it packs the power of the sea
So, how do we eat this?fork?
Chopstick?
spatula?
Real Hiroshima people eat OKONOMIYAKI with a spatula
Warning! It's hot off the grill!
always be prepared
Sip some water first and attack with caution
so when you're in hiroshima
Eat it off the grill like a pro.Try different shops and experiment
you won't be sorry