Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

 After posting my first Osaka Style Okonomiyaki Recipe, one of my friends asked me, "How about the okonomiyaki with noodles in it?"  

She may have been referring to this, Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki, (also known as Hiroshima-yaki ) which has a layer of yakisoba noodles.  The other main difference between Osaka Style Okonomiyaki and Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki is, while in Osaka style Okonomiyaki the ingredients (or at least, the cabbage) are mixed together into the batter, in Hiroshimayaki, each ingredient is added separately in layers.

Coming from a Kansai background, I had grown up on Osaka style Okonomiyaki.  So, to add Hiroshimayaki to my blog, I first had to master it.  That journey has been quite delicious.

Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki Recipe (makes 6)

Batter:

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 3/4 ~ 2 cups water

1~2 tsp dashi powder (1 sachet)

1/2 cabbage, shredded

a large handful of moyashi (mungbean sprouts)

a small handful of sliced negi (shallots/spring onions)

2 Tbsp beni-shoga (pickled ginger), finely chopped

3 packet/servings of yakisoba noodles

200~300g thinly sliced pork belly*

6 eggs

Toppings:

Okonomi Sauce

Japanese Mayonaise

Ao-nori, negi and katsuo-bushi

 1.  Mix together flour, water and dashi powder to make the batter.  It should be quite runny, but not watery.  Adjust if necessary (I can't be bothered measuring on scales, so cup measurements are always approximate).

2.  Using a ladle, pour a little batter onto a preheated hotplate/teppanyaki plate/frypan, and swirl the bottom of the ladle around on it to spread the batter thinly.  Sprinkle with Katsuobushi.

 3.  Place a very large handful of shredded cabbage on the base,  followed by ginger, shallots and bean sprouts.

4.  Open a packet of yakisoba noodles and place them on the hotplate (if making just one okonomiyaki at a time, use only half a packet of noodles)

 5.  Place strips of pork on top of the mound of vegetables.  Sprinkle the pork and the yakisoba with a little salt and pepper.  (Even BETTER, if you have it, sprinkle the yakisoba with some of the yakisoba sauce powder packet that came with the yakisoba.)

 6.  Pour a little batter over the meat and vegetables, then using two spatulas, flip the whole thing over.  The base crepe now becomes a "lid" under which the vegetables can cook.

Don't worry if a little cabbage falls out the sides when you flip it, just sweep it all under the "lid".

Turn the yakisoba, which should now be getting crispy.

 7.  (When the pork is cooked through and a little crispy)
Spread the yakisoba noodles out into a circle the size of the okonomiyaki, then lift the okonomiyaki (using two spatulas) and place it on top of the noodles.

 8.  Crack an egg onto the hotplate in the spot where the yakisoba was.  Break the yolk and spread the egg out a bit.  Lift the okonomiyaki and place it on top of the egg.

 9.  When the egg is cooked, flip the whole thing, egg side up.

10.  Generously spread Okonomi Sauce on top, followed by mayonaise, ao-nori, shallots and katsuobushi.

 Notes:
*The pork is not paper-thin sliced pork as we would use in a nabe (hot pot), rather it is ideally medium-thin sliced pork belly (with a bit of fat on it) but a little thinner than Korean Samgeopsal pork.

Step 1: Batter "quite runny but not watery"??  The perfect batter consistency is similar to that of Osaka Okonomiyaki, it just takes a little practice, and you'll know what I mean...sorry.

Step 3: The vegetables will look like the hugest pile ever when you put them on raw, but when they cook at step 6 they flatten out.


Step 6: Don't overcook the cabbage at step 6, or you end up with the taste of... overcooked cabbage.

Okonomi Sauce: I've been asked about substitutes before, but for Hiroshimayaki, Okonomi Sauce doesn't really have any good substitute.  Even Tonkatsu Sauce (which my mother often uses for Osaka style Okonomiyaki) is just a little second-rate here, sorry.

My other Okonomiyaki Recipes:

Okonomiyaki

Ebi Okonomiyaki