My feet have been itching to travel, yet circumstances won't let me. And since I am not yet allowed to travel with everything that's happening, let me take you back to my first Okonomiyaki experience while I was in Higashihiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken, Japan.
Basically, Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is a Japanese savoury pancake that contains a variety of ingredients that is widely known in the Hiroshima and Kansai regions in Japan. By the way, Kansai is the region that surrounds Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga.
It may contain pork, so our organizer was kind enough to tell the okonomiyaki shop that we will be ordering squid.
Apparently, Hiroshima is known for its layered okonomiyaki, which we obviously haven't achieved since we battered the ingredients before baking. What makes a Hiroshima okonomiyaki different than all others in Japan is the amount of cabbage that is put into one serving of such. Hiroshimans love their okonomiyaki served with almost four times the amount of cabbage used in Osaka-style okonomiyaki.
Since foodies are the one to bake their okonomiyaki, it makes the experience a lot better. In our case, upon getting the ingredients, we battered them and made sure that it is well-mixed. We made sure that the flour in the bottom of the container was mixed thoroughly with the egg and other ingredients.
After getting the right consistency such as the one above, it is baking/cooking time. Just like making pancake, lay the mixture into the cooking area and wait for it to turn brown before flipping. After cooking, we put a generous amount of Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese-style dried fish, and mayonnaise.
Vegetable salad and noodle side dish are also present. It is cooked with the Okonomiyaki sauce on the same heating area. Our organizer's mother was kind enough to cook it for us.
For me, Okonomiyaki is best served with cold drinks such as juices and soft drinks. Although it is sweet, we ordered coke for the first time in Japan when we ate at the Okonomiyaki shop.
Meditating after eating a ginormous Okonomiyaki.
Have you tried Okonomiyaki? What are your thoughts?
