Okonomiyaki is very famous in Osaka. (o-konomi-yaki) It is said to have originated here and people describe it as a pancake with vegetables and meat in it. We had this for dinner at Spa World. They mixed it up and grilled it right in front of us. We had a pork and shrimp version and a beef and pork version. The latter had noodles also added to it which is mentioned in the definition below.
From Wikipedia:
Kansai- or Osaka-style okonomiyaki is the predominant version of the dish, found throughout most of Japan. The batter is made of flour, grated nagaimo (a type of yam), water or dashi, eggs and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion, meat (generally pork or bacon), octopus, squid, shrimp, vegetables, kimchi, mochi or cheese. Okonomiyaki is sometimes compared to an omelette or a pancake and may be referred to as a "Japanese pizza" or "Osaka soul food".
In Osaka (the largest city in the Kansai region), where this 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 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 otafuku/okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), aonori (seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), Japanese mayonnaise, and pickled ginger (beni shoga).
When served with a layer of fried noodles, the resulting dish is called modan-yaki, the name of which may be derived from the English word "modern" or as a contraction of mori dakusan, meaning "a lot" or "piled high" signifying the volume of food from having both yakisoba and udon.
We had both okonomiyaki and madan-yaki. Jim likes it with noodles better. I prefer without. The girls won't tell me what their preference was, but they both ate it. So - that right there says alot...it was good!
If you would like to watch a few videos of how this is prepared, I took them for everyone. And if we don't already look like tourists, me video taping them making okonomiyaki sure confirmed it! I think it made almost all of the workers in the restaurant laugh a little...but not in a bad way. Most Japanese people we find are proud to share their culture with westerners...even if it means their hands are on video!
This is the beginning. They bring the mix in the bowl to the table, mix it up right in front of you.
Then they place the mixture on the grill....
And then they flip it...just like a pancake!
Add two special sauces...and it's ready to eat! (This is just a photo, not a video)
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