The Best OKONOMIYAKI You’ve Never Tried! | Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

Hi guys! Welcome back to Chef's Japanese Kitchen! So today, we're going to be making another type of okonomiyaki. You guys loved my okonomiyaki recipe with Rotaro, so I'm back with another recipe. This time, it's Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. Let me quickly tell you the difference between Osaka and Hiroshima okonomiyaki. Osaka style mixes the batter and ingredients together and is fried like a pancake. However, Hiroshima style is made by layering all the ingredients and it uses soba or udon noodles. Okay! It's time to make Hiroshima style okonomiyaki! So, let's get cooking! Today, we're going to be using these vegetables. First, Japanese leeks, known as naganegi. Then, some bean sprouts. And finally, some garlic, which is not traditionally included, but I love to include in this recipe. There are so many different vegetables you can use in this recipe, so feel free to use whatever you like. However, the most important is cabbage, so do not forget this. Let's start off by cutting the cabbage into thin slices. Cut the cabbage in half, then in half again, like so. Next, separate the inner leaves and outer leaves so it is easier to cut. After, we'll cut into half centimeter slices, like this. We'll be mixing everything together, so it doesn't need to be too precise. Next, we'll be using 60 grams of bean sprouts. You can put this to the side for now. Next, we'll cut 30 grams of the Japanese leeks into small pieces. Cut off the bottom roots, then cut into thirds to make it easier to cut. Slice the leeks into around 1 centimeter pieces, just like the cabbage. You don't have to be too precise. Finally, the garlic, which we'll cut into thin slices. For the meat, we'll be using thinly sliced pork belly, which we'll cut into thirds. For Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, the batter is quite thin compared to Osaka-style okonomiyaki. To make the batter, we'll be using 25 milliliters of water, which we'll mix with one egg. There are many recipes that don't require an egg, but I think it adds a delicious richness to the okonomiyaki, but feel free to leave the egg out. Then, we'll sift in the flour, using this handy sifter. If you don't have one of these, don't worry, you can skip this part out. Using a whisk, give the mixture a thorough mix until everything is incorporated. Don't worry if there are a few lumps. Traditionally, in Hiroshima okonomiyaki, yakisoba noodles are used. However, if you can't find these in the supermarket, try using some raw ramen noodles and add a little bit of oil. If you can't find either, thin pasta works great as well. Add the noodles of your choice to a bowl. As you can see, the noodles are clumped together, so we will add one teaspoon of vegetable oil and break it up with our hands like this. That looks better. Now, let's get frying. What's great about this recipe is that it only takes one frying pan. Heat the frying pan to a medium heat and pour in one tablespoon of oil. In the meantime, whisk together two eggs. Quickly check the temperature of the pan by adding a little egg like this. If it fries immediately, it's ready to go. Add all the egg into the frying pan like so, then reduce to a low heat. We will leave the egg to cook just like this until the bottom is cooked and the top is just slightly soft. Place on a plate like so and put to the side. In the same frying pan, add some more oil and fry the sliced garlic on a medium heat. If you lift the pan up like so, all the oil and garlic will run to the bottom, so it helps cook more evenly. Once you can smell the garlic aroma, we will add the yakisoba noodles and lightly fry them. Next, add one tablespoon of oyster sauce. This can burn easily, so please be careful. Give it a nice mix like this so all the noodles are coated in the oil and oyster sauce. Turn off the heat and place the noodles on the top of the egg. Spread the noodles so it covers all the egg like so. Next, let's cook the batter. As the batter is quite thin, we will put it in a room temperature frying pan first with no heat. This will help us make the shape of the okonomiyaki without overcooking. Pour the batter in like so. And then swirl the pan around so it forms a beautiful round shape. Next, turn on the gas to around medium-low heat. As you can see, the batter is yellow because of the egg. If you don't use an egg, the batter will be white but will be delicious as well. Using a rubber spatula, check the size to see if it's cooked. Also, try moving the pan around like this. The top of the batter should be slightly hardened, meaning it's ready to flip. Look at the bottom, the perfect color. Flip it over and fry for a minute or so and push down any air pockets forming like this. If you are wondering, a batter with no egg looks like this. It'll be a little more crispy but just as tasty. After it is cooked, place on top of the egg and noodles and leave to one side. So now is the most important part, the okonomiyaki filling. Heat the frying pan on medium heat and lay the pork belly slice around the bottom of the pan. You don't need to put in any oil as there is plenty of pork belly fat. Next, add the cabbage on top. Then the bean sprouts. And finally, the Japanese leeks. Add the cooked batter on top of the vegetables. This will act like a lid and help steam while the pork becomes nice and crispy. We will cook this for 5 minutes on a low heat. Now and again, using a rubber spatula, push the sides in to help keep its shape. It's been 5 minutes, so let's check how the vegetables are getting on. They're looking great! As you can see, the vegetables have shrunk in size but need just a few more minutes to cook. Now it's time to season our vegetables. First, remove the cooked batter. Then add fish powder and bonito flakes. You can add as much as you want or skip this entirely. A great alternative is some dashi powder. Our finally seasoning is tororo kombu, which is made from thin shavings of kombu. I love tororo kombu as it's packed full of umami. This may be hard to find, so you can leave this out. After adding the seasonings, press the sides in again to keep it in a dome shape. Return the cooked batter on top of the vegetables and cook for another 3 minutes. The dome shape will help all the steam cook the vegetables in the middle. Let's check again. Perfect! All the vegetables look cooked through. If the vegetables still look a little hard, feel free to cook for another couple of minutes. Next, turn off the heat. We will slowly move the pork and vegetables on top of the noodles and act like so. And then, let's flip this okonomiyaki over. Grab another plate and place on top like so. Then in one quick movement, turn it upside down. Let's see how I did. Looking good! Now for the finishing touches. Okonomiyaki sauce can be found in most supermarkets, but if you can't find it, you can make your own with 20g of Worcestershire sauce, 20g of ketchup, 7.5g of soy sauce, and finally, 3g of honey. First, generously pour the okonomiyaki sauce over like so. Then, sprinkle on some dried green seaweed, also known as aonori. And on the side, some pickled ginger, called demi-shoga. Finally, mayonnaise. We wanna pour this beautifully over the okonomiyaki like... Whoops! Let's pretend that didn't happen. Pour the mayonnaise like so, and cover up any mistakes. And your Hiroshima okonomiyaki is ready. Okay, guys! We've finished making Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki! Let's dig in! Itadakimasu! Look at this. Look at the noodle and cabbage inside. It's totally different from Osaka-style okonomiyaki. The egg and noodles and crispy dough, it's a completely different texture. What's good about this dish is, you can make it only in one frying pan! So, give it a try! Let me know in the comments below if you make your own Hiroshima okonomiyaki, and tell me how it tastes! Thanks for watching, guys! And remember, after we eat, we all say... Gochisosamadeshita!