July 21, 2009

Okonomiyaki/お好み焼き

I'm not qualified to talk about the authentic okonomiyaki: Osaka- and Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, but I can talk about my type of okonomiyaki. I simply use store-bought okonomiyaki mix, which usually contains yamaimo (mountain yam) and katsuo dashi. I mix together the mix, shredded cabbage, eggs, and water. Beni shoga (pickled red ginger), negi (Japanese scallion), and tenkasu (tiny deep-fried tempura batter balls) are also common ingredients, but I don't add them to my okonomiyaki batter because my children don't like the first and the second, and the third is high in calorie.
私は本格的なお好み焼き(大阪風、広島風)について語る資格はありませんが、自分の好きなお好み焼きについては語れます。単に、出来合いのお好み焼きの粉(通常、山芋とカツオだしが入っている)を使います。その粉とキャベツの千切りと卵と水を混ぜます。紅ショウガ、ネギ、天かすも一般的な具材ですが、私自身はお好み焼きには入れません。紅ショウガとネギは子供が嫌いですし、天かすはカロリーが高いので。

I top my okonomiyaki with beni shoga, aonori (a type of seaweed), katsuo bushi (dried bonito shavings), and chuunou sauce. My wife and children also add mayo and tomato ketchup.
私はお好み焼きに紅ショウガと青海苔と鰹節と中濃ソースを載せます。妻と子供たちはマヨネーズとケチャップも載せます。

Leftover okonomiyaki.

I didn't have the time to take decent photos of the okonomiyaki before I started to eat. (I got a phone call from my parents just when I was starting to eat.)
食べ始める前にお好み焼きのまともな写真を撮る時間がありませんでした。(食べ始めようとしたら、両親から電話が来ました。)

4 comments:

Mama said...

I LOVE okonomiyaki! Most of the ones we find here are made by Chinese people, lol. Not very authentic.

I thought about buying the mix, but the instructions are in Japanese, so I don't know how to make it. I guess I could ask the people that work at the Japanese grocery store to translate for me, huh?

By the way, is yamaimo (mountain yam) the same thing as nagaimo?

Hiroyuki said...

pink: If the salesperson is not kind enough to translate the recipe for you, just show it to me, and I will translate it for you.

Yamaimo vs. nagaimo: First of all, I should have written, "yamaimo (yams or mountain potatoes)" (as opposed to satoimo (taro or field potatoes)").
The answer is simple: Nagaimo (lit. long potato) is one type of yamaimo (generic term for any type of "potato" that can be gathered from mountains).
http://www.o-e-c.net/syokuzai/yamaimo.htm
This webpage illustrates most of the yamaimo found in Japan. The third one from the left is nagaimo. The fourth one is jinenjo (wild yamaimo). I posted a photo of the jinenjo I had bought somewhere in my blog.
I've found it, here it is:
http://hiro-shio.blogspot.com/2008/06/mugi-toro-gohan-rice-cooked-with-barley.html
Nagaimo is watery, and is not very suited for mugi toro.

Hiroyuki said...

pink: And, also browse through this thread on okonomiyaki in the Japan Forum on eGullet:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19221&st=60&p=740949&#entry740949
Okonomiyaki is so cheap (when made by yourself) yet so tasty!

Mama said...

Wow, thanks for all the info! I didn't know there were so many different kinds of potatoes and yams. I really like nagaimo (both cooked and raw), so I was curious if it was the same thing.

I always learn something new from your blog. :)