okonomiyaki
I had okonomiyaki for the first time when I visited Japan two summers ago, at a restaurant called Mitchan (seriously!) in Hiroshima.
The dish is a specialty of Hiroshima and the Kansai region in Japan, which includes the cities of Osaka and Kyoto. At its most basic, okonomiyaki is a big pile of batter, eggs, and cabbage cooked on a griddle and smothered with a thick, sweet-tart brown sauce. Additional ingredients may include noodles, squid, pork, bacon, scallions, dried seaweed, pickled ginger, mochi, cheese, mayonnaise, and best of all, dried bonito flakes that crackle, squirm, and jump around when they’re sprinkled on hot food. Okonomiyaki is sometimes called “Japanese pizza” or “Japanese omelet,” which I find odd and unnecessary. It’s kind of like calling pierogi “Polish wontons.”
Cooking With Dog has an episode devoted to okonomiyaki, and you can find it on menus all over St. Mark’s Place here in New York. Just typing this post makes me hungry.
Any recommendations for a good okonomiyaki spot?
2 years ago