P
Japanese · Osaka
Okonomiyaki Osaka Hiroshima Pancake
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, 'cook what you like') is a thick savoury pancake of dashi-enriched batter with cabbage and various toppings griddled on a teppan (iron griddle). Two major regional styles define the dish. Osaka-style (Kansai) mixes all ingredients — batter, shredded cabbage, eggs, and toppings such as pork belly, squid, shrimp, or mochi — together before cooking as a single unified pancake. Hiroshima-style (Hiroshima-yaki) layers ingredients: a thin crêpe of batter, a mountain of raw shredded cabbage, pork belly, and bean sprouts piled on top then compressed; a yakisoba noodle layer is added mid-cook; the whole tower is flipped as a compressed cake and finished with a fried egg. The batter traditionally uses nagaimo (mountain yam) for its viscous binding and lightening properties — grated nagaimo produces extraordinary fluffiness. Katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and aonori (dried seaweed flakes) are standard toppings alongside okonomi sauce and Kewpie mayonnaise. Hiroshima-yaki is considered more difficult and has attracted intense local pride. Many restaurants serve okonomiyaki at table-top griddles where diners cook their own.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the batter
120 g
plain flour
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
160 ml
dashi
cold
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
nagaimo (mountain yam)
peeled and grated immediately before use
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
eggs
Your own market
30 g
tenkasu (tempura batter crumbles)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the pancake
400 g
green cabbage
finely shredded
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
pork belly
thinly sliced
Your own market
100 g
squid
cleaned and cut into small pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
shrimp
peeled
Your own market
Hiroshima-style only
150 g
yakisoba noodles
pre-cooked
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
bean sprouts
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
eggs
one per pancake, for the griddle finish
Your own market
To finish
4 tbsp
okonomi sauce
sweet-savoury Worcester-base sauce
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 tbsp
Kewpie mayonnaise
Your own market
10 g
katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
applied hot to the finished pancake
Origin · United StatesNot yet stocked in British Columbia
5 g
aonori (dried seaweed flakes)
Origin · JapanT Amano Trading · Vancouver →
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Grate the nagaimo directly into the dashi. Whisk in the eggs until uniform. Sift in the flour and stir briefly — the batter should just come together. Fold in the tenkasu. The batter is ready when it coats a spoon lightly and shows no dry flour; do not overwork it.
2
OSAKA-STYLE — Add the finely shredded cabbage, and chosen toppings (pork belly, squid, shrimp, or mochi) to the batter. Fold together with the minimum number of strokes. Rest the combined mass briefly so the batter begins to hydrate the cabbage. The mixture is ready when the cabbage glistens and the batter clings to every strand without pooling at the base of the bowl.
3
Heat a teppan or heavy flat griddle over a medium flame until a drop of water skips across the surface. Portion the Osaka mixture onto the griddle as a thick round cake. Lay sliced pork belly across the top surface. Cook without pressing until the underside is set and deep golden — lift one edge to check the colour. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the batter is pressed down at this stage, moisture escapes and the airy structure built by the nagaimo collapses irreversibly.
4
Flip the Osaka pancake once, with a single confident motion, and cook the second side until firm to a light press at the centre and coloured to match the first side. The pancake is done when it yields a gentle resistance — not liquid beneath — when the spatula is pressed flat against it.
5
HIROSHIMA-STYLE — On the heated teppan, pour a thin round of plain batter and spread to a wide crêpe. Before it sets, pile a high mound of raw shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and chosen toppings on top; lay pork belly slices over the mound. Allow the base crêpe to set firm at the edges — it will show a matte, dry ring around a still-translucent centre.
6
Place the pre-cooked yakisoba noodles alongside the tower on the griddle and warm them briefly. Slide the noodle layer under the cabbage mound. Using two spatulas, compress the entire tower firmly and deliberately into a consolidated cake. The tower is ready to flip when it holds its shape under lateral pressure without splaying.
7
Flip the Hiroshima tower as a single mass onto the noodle side. Crack one egg per pancake onto the cleared griddle surface, break the yolk, and spread it to the diameter of the pancake. Slide the inverted pancake onto the egg and allow the egg to cook and adhere. The pancake is done when the egg layer is set and opaque at the edges with no translucent raw centre visible.
8
Transfer to a board or serve directly from the griddle. Apply okonomi sauce in broad strokes, then Kewpie mayonnaise. Scatter aonori and finish with katsuobushi applied while the pancake is still hot. The bonito flakes will visibly animate — lifting and curling from the rising heat — confirming the pancake is at serving temperature.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Fresh nagaimo grated to order; hand-made dashi from first-press katsuobushi and kombu; heritage-breed pork belly; live or same-day cleaned squid; house-made okonomi sauce on a genuine Worcester base.
02
Estate — Good-quality nagaimo from a Japanese grocer; dashi from quality dried katsuobushi brewed that day; supermarket pork belly sliced thin; fresh shrimp; commercial okonomi sauce (Otafuku or equivalent) and Kewpie mayonnaise.
03
Market — Nagaimo replaced in part by grated potato or yamaimo if unavailable, accepting some loss of the characteristic fluffiness; instant dashi powder dissolved in water; frozen squid and shrimp, thoroughly dried before use.
04
House — Batter made with water and a dash of soy in the absence of dashi; no nagaimo — batter will be denser; pork belly replaced by streaky bacon; standard mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce thinned with ketchup as substitute finishing sauces.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Batter coats a spoon in a thin, even film with no visible dry flour and no gluey ropes of over-mixed gluten.
◇Sight. Osaka-style: underside shows a deep, even golden-brown when the edge is lifted — no pale or grey patches.
◇Touch. Osaka-style second side: the spatula pressed flat against the centre meets firm resistance, not a liquid give beneath the crust.
◇Touch. Hiroshima-style tower: holds its form without splaying when pressed laterally by two spatulas before the flip.
◇Sight. Hiroshima-style egg layer: fully set and opaque at the edges, no translucent raw centre remaining.
◇Sight. Finish: katsuobushi flakes lift and curl visibly from the heat of the pancake, confirming it has reached serving temperature.
◇Where it lives or dies. The Osaka pancake must never be pressed during its first side on the griddle — one firm press collapses the nagaimo-built structure and produces a dense, compacted cake that no subsequent step can rescue.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance