Okonomiyaki is a thick savoury pancake made from a flour-egg-dashi batter loaded with shredded cabbage and a chosen filling, griddle-cooked and topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori (dried seaweed flakes), and katsuobushi.
Osaka vs Hiroshima style
Osaka-style (Kansai): All ingredients mixed into the batter together. Simpler and faster. The standard in most restaurants outside Hiroshima.
Hiroshima-style: Batter cooked as a thin crêpe first, then toppings layered on top (cabbage, protein, yakisoba noodles), then the whole stack flipped and cooked as a unit. More structured and complex.
Toppings
- Okonomiyaki sauce (a thicker, sweeter Worcester-style sauce)
- Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie)
- Aonori
- Katsuobushi (the heat makes it wave)
- Beni shoga (pickled red ginger)