I COOKED OKONOMIYAKI

One of the Osaka food I missed after I returned to Singapore was Okonomiyaki. I just could not forget the rich and unique taste. To relive the delicious dish, I tried cooking it at home. My Japanese friend from Osaka supported the idea by sending me a bottle of Otafuku sauce (brown sauce like Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), packets of flour and aonori (seafood flakes). I bought other ingredients like cabbage, onions, carrots, eggs, honey-baked ham, Japanese mayonnaise and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). I used a normal frying pan and some cooking oil. www.otafukufoods.com


As the word "Okonomi" means "what you like" ("yaki" means "fried"), I like my Okonomiyaki to be tasty using simple ingredients. I prepared a bowl of batter mix made up of flour, water, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots and chopped onions. I avoided adding too much water so that the ingredients would not spread out while frying. My nephew Sherman was curious about the dish and was waiting in anticipation..haha.


I poured the batter mix onto a frying pan with some cooking oil, using mid-fire. While the underside was cooking, I added a piece of honey-baked ham on top. After about 7 minutes, I flipped over the dish. The honey-baked ham side was cooked for another 5 minutes before I flipped over the Okonomiyaki. Then I added a beaten egg on top and flipped over again. The Okonomiyaki was completed after 3 minutes.




The cooked Okonomiyaki was topped with Otafuku sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and katsuobushi. I was surprised and encouraged by the delicious taste. Sherman liked the dish very much. I cooked Okonomiyaki again twice, using the same ingredients. Perhaps next time I will try other ingredients like cheese, beacon, shrimp, and even kimchi.


Still on the topic of Okonomiyaki, I watched a Japanese TV drama recently entitled "Teppan Girl Akane", starring Maki Horikita (I love watching dramas, movies and documentaries on food and cooking). There are a few scenes which feature Okonomiyaki cooking. Quite impressive. www.tbs.co.jp/teppangirl