There are as many versions of okonomiyaki as there are vending machines in Japan, which makes sense, seeing that ‘okonomi’ means ‘what you like’ and ‘yaki’ means ‘cooked’. The mixture varies from region to region, as do the toppings. In Hiroshima, they layer up the savoury pancake with noodles and other ingredients, whereas in the Kansai region, they tend to keep it a bit simpler and go for an all-in-one batter. Nori’s Mum often made it with thinly sliced pork belly, which is tasty too!
This dish is super popular in Japan – there are Okonomiyaki restaurants everywhere. My favourites are the ‘grill-it-yourself’ establishments – after choosing your fillings, your batter is delivered to the table where you then cook your own on communal hot plates. Because not everyone has one of these grill plates hanging around the house, you can either use the hotplate on your BBQ or a fry pan, like we do. If you’re using a frying pan, it’s best to keep the pancake relatively small to make for easy flipping.
We add chopped calamari to ours which adds a nice texture, but you should embrace the meaning of ‘okonomi’ and literally add what you like, which could include: thin slices of pork belly, octopus or more vegetables would be delicious too. You can easily make okonomiyaki vegetarian by using a dashi stock made from mushrooms or kombu and omitting the calamari and bonito flakes. The pancake is then smothered in okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and topped with things like nori, bonito flakes and spring onions – DELICIOUS!
Oh, and I should also mention that you need to pay close attention to the bonito flakes when they hit the steamy pancake, or YouTube ‘Bonito flakes dancing’ – my number two reason why I love okonomiyaki. Number one is, of course, the taste!
Okonomiyaki with all the trimmings! Large plate by Valerie Resterick from Craft Victoria. Small carrot chopstick holder – Julia’s own. Flower-shaped ceramic ‘1616 Arita Japan Palace Plate’ from MINAMI. Recipe – Julia Busuttil Nishimura & Norihiko Nishimura, Styling – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, photo – Eve Wilson.
Nori perfects the golden fried Okonomiyaki! Recipe – Julia Busuttil Nishimura & Norihiko Nishimura, Styling – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, photo – Eve Wilson.
My beautiful piece of honed carrara marble still smells like squid after this photograph. I’m not kidding. Recipe – Julia Busuttil Nishimura & Norihiko Nishimura, Styling – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, photo – Eve Wilson.
We were INSANELY IMPRESSED by Julia’s seemingly effortless ability to prepare this squid from scratch, including removing the weird internal bone. Julia, we salute you! Recipe – Julia Busuttil Nishimura & Norihiko Nishimura, Styling – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, photo – Eve Wilson.
Okonomiyaki with all the trimmings! Large plate by Valerie Resterick from Craft Victoria. Small carrot chopstick holder – Julia’s own. Flower-shaped ceramic ‘1616 Arita Japan Palace Plate’ from MINAMI. Recipe – Julia Busuttil Nishimura & Norihiko Nishimura, Styling – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, photo – Eve Wilson.
