Thursday, June 21, 2007

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a mixture between pancake and pizza.
"Okonomi" means "as you like".
This refers to the ingredients.





Dough:
・300 g flour
・210 ml water
・2 eggs
・Cabbage

Possible ingredients to put into/onto Okonomiyaki:
・Katsuobushi*: Dried, shaved benito (katsuo)
・Aonori*: Green, dried seaweed.
・Leek or green onion
・Beef: thinly sliced or ground
・Pork: thinly sliced or ground
・Chicken: breast filets
・Octopus*
・Squid*
・Prawn
・Tuna
・Mushrooms and much more...

Sauces:
・Brown okonomiyaki sauce*
・Mayonnaise

* May not be available in Western supermarkets;
but you should be able to find it in Japanese grocery stores that exist in most large
European and American cities.

Preparation:
1. Cut four large, green cabbage leaves without the hard, white core in thin strings (ca. 4 mm).
2. Mix the water, flour, eggs and the cabbage strings together.
3. You may now add more ingredients to the dough: e.g. seafood, cut in little pieces, ground meat, cut mushrooms, etc.
4. Fry the dough like a pancake in a small frying pan.
5. Before turning the okonomiyaki over, and while the dough is still quite soft, you may put other ingredients on top of the dough.
6. Turn the okonomiyaki.
7. When fried well, serve the okonomiyaki with katsuobushi, aonori, mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce.

General information:
Depending on the region of Japan, okonomiyaki is prepared in various different styles.In Hiroshima, which is especially well known for its Okonomiyaki, it is served with or on top of Yakisoba (fried noodles).