Okonomiyake and Yakisoba

For our dinner my aunt decided to have Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), though my aunt is a Filipino I can say that she is good in cooking Japanese foods. Working for almost 5 years in a Japanese restaurant where she learned how to cook. My aunt prepared the mixture and the ingredients but it was her Japanese husband who do the cooking. When I first ate okonomiyake (お好みやけ) It reminded me of pizza, well, I can say that it is a Japanese version of pizza. It has a lot of toppings and at that time, I started to like it, because it's oishii (delicious). After we ate okonomiyake, my aunt's husband started to cook yakisoba (焼きそば), a perfect partner for okonomiyake, in our frying plate, though I am full I also try to eat yakisoba. It was a nice dinner and I really enjoyed it. Gochisosama deshita (Thanks for the food!).

Okonomiyake (お好み焼き)

Okonomi means "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki means "grilled" or "cooked" thus, the name of this dish means "cook what you like". The customers choose their own ingredients and then cook up their pancakes right at the table. It is said to be originated in Osaka and continues to be most popular there.

Recipe

Ingredients for one pancake:
Cooked bacon (2-3strips, cut into small pieces)
Cabbage (3/4 cup, shredded)
A few prawns
Baking powder (1 teaspoon)
Cake flour (4 tablespoons)
Salt (1/6 teaspoon)
Chopped green onion (1/2 cup)
Water (3 tablespoons)
Egg

Okonomiyaki Sauce
Ketchup (3 tablespoons)
Soy sauce (1 teaspoon)
Worcestershire sauce (1 tablespoon)
*Mix the above together

Okonomiyaki Toppings
Mayonnaise (1 tablespoon)
Aonori (dried green seaweed) and dried bonito shavings (to taste)


Procedure:

1. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder and sift. Gently mix in the water. Next, add all the remaining ingredients and mix them together thoroughly.
2. Heat the griddle (or frying pan) and lightly oil. Spoon the okonomiyaki mixture on the griddle and spread it into a round shape about 1.2 to 1.5 cm thick.
3. When air bubbles start to rise in the middle of the okonomiyaki, turn it over with a spatula and fry while pressing down on it slightly until done.
4. Spread the sauce over the okonomiyaki, top with mayonnaise if you like. Sprinkle on the aonori and dried bonito. The okonomiyaki is now ready to eat.

Yakisoba (焼きそば)

Yakisoba is a kind of Japanese fried noodle as yaki means fried in Japanese. Soba means noodles. Originated from China Yakisoba noodles are not made from buckwheat (soba), but like ramen noodles, are made from wheat flour.

Recipe

Steamed Yakisoba noodles (1 pack)
meat (pork or beef, 50 g (2 oz), cut into thin, small pieces)
cabbage (1/2 cup, chopped coarsely)
carrot (1/4 cup, thinly sliced)
onion (1/3 cup, thinly sliced)
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
water (2 or 3 tablespoons

Procedure:

1. Oil the griddle (or frying pan) and fry the meat (fry pork until it turns white). Next, add the onion and carrot and fry until they soften slightly. Then add the cabbage and fry until soft.
2. Pull the noodles apart to keep them from staying in a clump, and stir them into the mixture. When everything is nicely mixed together, pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of water over it and stir-fry a little longer.
3. Add the seasoning sauce (powder or liquid) that comes with the pack of noodles, or if there is no sauce, use Japanese Worcestershire sauce. If you like, top with aonori (dried green seaweed). It's ready to eat.

* You can use any kind of meat for Yakisoba. It is also delicious with seafood, such as prawns. It tastes good with any vegetables - for example, green peppers, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, celery, and broccoli - so put more vegetables in if you like.
Just cut them to the right size and thickness for stir-frying and saute them until they soften. For bigger pieces of vegetable you might have to boil them a little to soften them up. You can also give the yakisoba a more Chinese flavor by using soy sauce or oyster sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce.