Japan Centre has the answer.
I love Japanese food and many people say they do too. There is very much more to this cuisine than sushi and sashimi. There are hot dishes as well, and they are delicious and easy to prepare when one has the fixin’s. Okonomiyaki is a favourite in Japan and now it can become just that in your own home.
Okonomiyaki is a sustaining Japanese pancake usually made with cabbage held together by a batter, and can be topped with meat (I like bacon), fried eggs, and seafood but one could also make a vegetarian version. The curious name comes from the word okonomi, meaning “how you like it” or “what you like”, and yaki, meaning “cooked”.
In Japan there are small restaurants devoted to just this piping hot dish. If you are lucky you can have a seat in front of a huge metal hot-plate on which your pile of chosen ingredients will be cooked. The chef deftly tosses and shapes the thick pancake and slides it over to the salivating diner, who will eat directly from the griddle using what looks like a miniature wallpaper scraper!
Toppings give okonomiyaki its appeal
A bunch of very ordinary ingredients are complemented by the toppings which really do give okonomiyaki its appeal. Cabbage is the main ingredient but some regions of Japan have noodles added to the mix too. That boring cabbage is transformed by the frying and the batter which holds the pancake together, and then by the toppings. They include okonomiyaki sauce (made with Worcestershire sauce), aonori (dried seaweed flakes), sometimes katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and the iconic Japanese mayonnaise. Some restaurants sprinkle other seasonings as well. This tasty plate will convert the sceptical and tempt those who would never normally touch anything green. Make the recipe your own by changing both the filling and the garnishes. It is, as the Japanese say ‘how you like it’.
Japan Centre offers everything you will need to make okonomiyaki, apart from the table-sized professional griddle. A selection of these traditional ingredients would make the perfect gift for any keen foodie or lover of Japanese cuisine. There is nothing difficult about preparation and all you really need is a nice roomy frying pan. The fresh ingredients are cheap and readily available. Add a couple of those spatulas especially made for eating Okomomiyaki to garner more gratitude for this unique present.
Visit Japan Centre here to order your okonomiyaki essentials and other Japanese ingredients.