Japanese Hiroshima Okonomiyaki Regional Style

Ingredients

• For the batter base
• 120 g plain flour, sifted
• 240 ml dashi or water, cold
• For the layers
• 400 g bean sprouts (moyashi), rinsed, drained — a full hand per portion
• 400 g green cabbage, finely shredded
• 200 g thin pork belly slices (buta), sliced to 2–3 mm
• 200 g pre-cooked yakisoba noodles, stir-fried separately with a little soy and sesame oil until seasoned and loosened
• 4 eggs, cracked to order, one per portion
• For the garnish
• 4 tbsp okonomi sauce, Worcester-based; applied generously after plating
• 2 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise, swirled over the top
• 1 tsp katsuobushi flakes, scattered; one pinch per portion
• 1 tsp aonori, dried green nori; dusted over the top

Method

1. 1
   Whisk flour and cold dashi to a smooth, very thin batter — thinner than a Western pancake batter, approaching crêpe consistency. Rest for 10 minutes. Heat the teppan or a large flat crepe pan over medium-high heat; lightly oil the surface. Pour a ladleful of batter into a round roughly 18 cm in diameter, spreading it as thinly as possible. The batter is set when the edges are dry and the surface is no longer liquid-wet at the centre.
2. 2
   Immediately pile shredded cabbage onto the batter disc, then heap bean sprouts on top — the volume will look impossibly large; this is correct. Lay slices of pork belly across the full surface of the vegetable mound. Place a metal dome lid over the entire stack and allow the vegetables to steam. The stack is ready when the cabbage at the centre yields without resistance when pressed with a spatula and steam escapes freely at the lid's rim.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Remove the lid. In a single decisive movement, slide a wide spatula fully under the batter base and flip the entire stack in one complete turn — pork belly now faces down against the teppan, the thin batter disc faces up. Any hesitation tears the layers apart. The underside should contact the hot surface with an audible immediate sizzle.
4. 4
   Place the pre-cooked, seasoned yakisoba noodles on the teppan beside the flipped stack, forming a flat disc of noodles roughly the same diameter as the stack. Allow the noodles to sear briefly until they colour and become fragrant with the teppan's heat.
5. 5
   Slide the main stack on top of the noodle disc and press gently to unite the layers. In one complete, confident motion, flip the entire combined construction again — the batter base now faces down; the noodle layer is intermediate. The construction holds when it does not separate at the edges under light pressure from the spatula.
6. 6
   Crack one egg onto a cleared area of the teppan and spread it thinly with the spatula to match the diameter of the stack. Before the egg is fully set, slide the entire stack face-down onto the egg and press gently so the egg adheres. The egg is correctly incorporated when its edges are set and opaque but the surface still shows a faint gloss.
7. 7
   Transfer the finished stack to a plate, egg-side up. Spoon okonomi sauce generously over the surface. Swirl Kewpie mayonnaise over the sauce. Scatter katsuobushi flakes and dust aonori across the top. Serve immediately while the katsuobushi flickers in the residual heat.