Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki

HIROSHIMA-STYLE OKONOMIYAKI — Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake with cabbage, bean sprouts, noodles, sliced pork belly and a fried egg, topped with savory sauce and Japanese mayo. photo by Namiko Chen

Have you tried okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) before? It’s a Japanese savory pancake that contains a variety of ingredients. “Okonomi” in Japanese means “as you like it,” so it’s a savory pancake that contains whatever ingredients you like.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (広島風お好み焼き) is a type of okonomiyaki that originated in Hiroshima, Japan.

Two Styles of Okonomiyaki

1. Osaka-style okonomiyaki

Osaka-style okonomiyaki is made of the batter, which includes flour and water or dashi, shredded cabbage, egg and green onions, along with the protein of your choice, such as pork belly slices or seafood.

You can find my Osaka-style okonomiyaki recipe here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/okonomiyaki/.

2. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki uses almost the same ingredients, but they are layered rather than mixed in with the batter like the Osaka-style. Not only that, fried egg and yakisoba noodles (or sometimes udon noodles) are used as toppings.

When you are in Hiroshima and order “okonomiyaki,” this layered okonomiyaki with noodles and fried egg comes to the table instead of Osaka-style okonomiyaki.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki has been around since the 1950s. At that time, the country was quite poor and people only used a little bit of flour and vegetables to make Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

The current Hiroshima okonomiyaki with meat, egg and noodles is a version that has evolved throughout the years. Nowadays, there are more than 2,000 restaurants within the Hiroshima area that specialize in Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki!

Osaka vs. Hiroshima
Which one is tastier? Well, that’s really up to your preference. If you like fried noodles and a less doughy texture, Hiroshima okonomiyaki is definitely your choice.

I like both styles of okonomiyaki, so it would be very hard for me to pick just one! At home, I just cook them alternatively.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake with cabbage, green onions, bean sprouts, noodles, sliced pork belly and egg, topped with savory sauce and Japanese mayo. Watch the video tutorial in the post for step-by-step instructions! (https://youtu.be/izysqFvM-po)

3 Okonomiyaki Toppings

1. Okonomi Sauce

I would say the important and delicious element for both Hiroshima and Osaka style okonomiyaki is the okonomi sauce (お好みソース).

Originally, Worcestershire sauce was used, but throughout the years the flavor has evolved to its current flavor. Okonomi sauce has a sweet and sour flavor that’s slightly different from tonkatsu sauce, and it’s so delicious!
2. Japanese Mayonnaise

Some people would call Japanese mayo Kewpie Mayonnaise. It has a sweet and tangy flavor that is well-balanced.

Many JOC readers have told me that they haven’t gone back to the original mayo they had been using since they tasted Japanese mayonnaise!

3. Aonori (dried green seaweed):

It is dried green (Ao) seaweed (Nori) flakes/powder. This umami-rich seaweed has a bright intense green color and has a unique fragrance.

Japan has many types of seaweed, including wakame, nori and konbu. We use the specific name for each type of seaweed instead of just calling them “seaweed.” It helps identify which is the correct seaweed for different type of dishes.

You can buy aonori from Amazon and Japanese/Asian grocery stores. Or you can substitute with regular nori if you can’t find it.
Itadakimasu!

I hope my tutorial video and step-by-step instructions with pictures will help you achieve the delicious Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki! If you haven’t tried Osaka-style, give it a try next!

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, visit https://www.justonecookbook.com/ingredient-substitution-for-japanese-cooking/.

Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake with cabbage, bean sprout, noodles, sliced pork belly and a fried egg, topped with savory sauce and Japanese mayo.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: okonomiyaki, savory pancake
Servings: 2
Author: Nami

Ingredients
• 150 ml water (a little bit less than 2/3 cup)
• 1 tsp mirin
• 100 g all-purpose flour (plain flour) (between 3/4 cup to 1 cup; Usually, cake flour is used for okonomiyaki, but I used all-purpose flour since it’s more readily available.)
• 240 g cabbage (about three large cabbage leaves)
• 1 green onion/scallion
• 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
• 4 Tbsp tenkasu/agedama (tenpura scraps)
• 60 g bean sprouts (about a handful)
• 2 Tbsp tororo konbu (optional; you can buy online)
• 6 slices sliced pork belly
• 2 yakisoba noodles
• 2 large eggs (50 g each without shell)

Toppings
• Okonomiyaki sauce (Or make my homemade okonomiyaki sauce recipe) https://www.justonecookbook.com/okonomiyaki-sauce/
• Japanese mayonnaise
• Aonori (dried green seaweed)
• pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga) (optional)

To read the full recipe, visit https://www.justonecookbook.com/hiroshima-okonomiyaki/.