Okonomiyaki
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Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is a type of Japanese pan-fried batter cake with various ingredients.
Okonomi means "what you like", or "what you want" and yaki means "grilled" or "cook" (c.f., yakitori and yakisoba) in Japanese, so this dish's name means "cook what you like." The batter is based on flour, grated yam, water or dashi, egg and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion, meat, squid, shrimp, vegetables, Kimchi, mochi and cheese. Okonomiyaki is often compared to an omelette, pizza or pancake because of the variety of ingredients it can contain. Hence it is sometimes called "Japanese pizza".
Okonomiyaki is prepared like a pancake. The batter and other ingredients are spread and fried on both sides, using either a hot plate (teppan) or a pan. The finished product is then served with further toppings such as okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), nori, fish flakes, mayonnaise (optional), and Ginger.
In Japan okonomiyaki is usually associated with the Kansai region, where it is thought to have originated, and Hiroshima. Different regions prefer different toppings and batters for okonomiyaki:
- In Kyoto, okonomiyaki is usually made with darker greens.
- In Hiroshima, it is common to add yakisoba noodles to the mixture and instead of mixing the ingredients together, they are all cooked separately and combined together on a stack; this variation is called modanyaki (モダン焼き) and a large part of the presentation is in the difficult task of stacking the ingredients. Most people from Hiroshima claim that this is the original (and correct) way to make okonomiyaki.
- A dish similar to okonomiyaki that originates in Tokyo is called monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き).
Many okonomiyaki restaurants specialize in specific genres of the dish.
Okonomiyaki in Popular Culture
The Ranma 1/2 character Ukyo is highly skilled at the preperation of Okonomiyaki, owning her own restaurant. She also uses Okonomiyaki themed weaponry, for example, one giant Spatula as a meele weapon and smaller ones as throwing knives.