# Okonomiyaki ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Okonomiyaki

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
All regions in Hiroshima Prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Wheat flour, green cabbage, pork, yakisoba, egg, sauce, green laver aonori

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The okonomiyaki made in Hiroshima is a dish wherein thinly spread batter is cooked in a pan and piled with heaps of cabbage, pork, yakisoba, a thinly fried egg, or other ingredients. While topping it with a rich, sweet sauce is universal, mayonnaise is also often added if you like. A spatula is used as the eating utensil when okonomiyaki is eaten from the steel plate griddle it’s cooked on. Okonomiyaki is called “the soul food of Hiroshima,” and the prefecture ranked first in the country for the number of okonomiyaki shops per population of 100,000 people (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; 2014 Economic Census - Basic Research). Okonomiyaki originates from a dish eaten in the period prior to the Second World War known as “issen yoshoku” (lit. one cent western meal), and in its use as a food to stave off hunger, transformed into okonomiyaki in the post-war era. In those days there were many steel factories in Hiroshima, meaning steel plate griddles were relatively easy to obtain, which is why it’s believed the number of okonomiyaki shops increased. In the year Showa 30 (1955), an increased number of stores remodeled their buildings and became able to offer soba noodles and pork, progressing the popularization of okonomiyaki. After that, following the championship victory of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team in Showa 50 (1975) Hiroshima was put on the map, being featured in things like guidebooks and okonomiyaki became known throughout the country.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Okonomiyaki is a soul food rooted in the lives of Hiroshima residents, and is eaten no matter the season or occasion. It’s also loved locally as the last meal to wrap up a drinking party.

## How to Eat
Thinly spread wheat flour batter is cooked in a pan and layered with cabbage, pork, yakisoba, thinly fried egg, or other ingredients. It’s then drizzled and topped with a sweet sauce, aonori, and mayonnaise if preferred, and eaten. There are variations which came about by the difference of ingredients according to region, and each region has their own unique okonomiyaki. Fuchū City’s “Bingo Fuchū okonomiyaki” uses minced beef or pork. Kure City’s “Kure okonomiyaki” uses the city’s famous thin udon noodles, and its unique trait is being served folded in half into a semicircle. It’s said the reason behind this was so that shipyard factory workers would be able to eat it quickly during their breaks. Shōhara City’s “Shōhara okonomiyaki” uses the city’s locally produced rice in place of noodles, and is eaten with ponzu sauce instead of typical okonomiyaki sauce. Onomichi City’s “Onomichi okonomiyaki” uses chicken gizzard and squid tempura. Takehara City’s “junmai ginjō saké Takehara okonomiyaki” has saké or saké lees mixed into the batter. Mihara City’s variation uses chicken giblets, thought to be because Mihara has a prosperous poultry industry. Miyoshi City uses noodles infused with chili peppers and its spiciness is its unique trait. The town of Kumano’s “fluffy natto okonomiyaki” has eggs, natto, and japanese yams in it. On the island and former city of Innoshima, the “innokonomiyaki” using udon noodles is the mainstream.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
There is a building in Hiroshima City which houses multiple okonomiyaki shops and is popular with tourists. Frozen okonomiyaki can be bought in places such as supermarkets, train stations, airports, and souvenir shops. Additionally, okonomiyaki is widely recognized outside of just Hiroshima and can be eaten at restaurants or festival stalls all over Japan.

## Ingredients
- [Batter] Dashi stock: 1／2 cup
- [Batter] Cake flour: 25g
- Cabbage: 200g
- Bean sprouts: 100g
- Scallion: 20g
- Fish meal: 1 teaspoon
- Tenkasu: 3g
- Pork belly rib: 2 pieces
- Egg: 1
- Soba noodles: 1 bundle
- Okonomiyaki sauce: 1／4 cup
- Green laver aonori: 1／2 teaspoon
- Red pickled ginger: 5g
- Salad oil: 1 teaspoon
- Dried bonito flakes: A bit

## Recipe
1. 1. Chop the cabbage into 3mm strips, and cut the scallions crosswise into 5mm rounds.
2. 2. Add the flour to the dashi stock and mix together without forming clumps. (prepare more stock than called for)
3. 3. Lightly brush a hot plate (heated 250℃) with oil, and spread the batter into a roughly 20cm circle, then sprinkle with fish meal.
4. 4. Top the circle of batter with the cabbage, bean sprouts, scallions, tenkasu, and pork belly; then pour on a little extra batter to hold it all together. Cook for about 5 minutes at 250℃ (caution, this is a high temperature), until the batter becomes crispy.
5. 5. Using a large spatula, flip over in one motion.
6. 6. Press down the top with the spatula, maintaining the form by ensuring that ingredients that stick out remain inside.
7. 7. Heat up the soba noodles on the griddle, properly untangling them, and stir frying on the side. (Either water, okonomiyaki sauce, or oil can be used to loosen the noodles when cooking.)
8. 8. Crack an egg directly into the griddle and stir around, then place the prepared soba noodles on top, then top the okonomiyaki with the soba-egg fry and press everything down with a spatula. (Fry the egg, spreading it into a 20cm circle without scrambling it.)
9. 9. Flip the okonomiyaki once more, and dress with okonomiyaki sauce, aonori, pickled ginger, and bonito flakes.

## Provider Information
provider : Recipe Source: Hiroshima Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of Better Eating Habits

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