Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki can best be described as an omelette cooked on a teppan griddle. In its most common form, this typically Japanese, vaguely ‘street food’ and resolutely ‘comfort food’ dish contains cabbage and octopus. It is almost always served under a substantial layer of barbecue-style ‘special okonomiyaki sauce’, flakes of smoked bonito waving in the heat and Japanese mayonnaise. Above all, it’s absolutely delicious, especially with a beer.

Like miso, sake and so many other Japanese specialities, okonomiyaki has many local variations. The famous Hiroshima version, for example, contains lots of cabbage and the ingredients are layered. The Osaka version, on the other hand, combines all the ingredients in a cheerful mix that is sometimes called ‘Osaka pizza’. All variations, however, seem to derive from a dessert that has been served in Japanese Buddhist temples for at least five centuries: “funoyaki” chestnut-filled pancakes.