Japan 2012: Okonomiyaki

I still remember the first time I tasted an okonomiyaki.  I was 13 years old and visiting my Aunt and Uncle in Hiroshima that summer and my aunt made this traditional Hiroshima dish on a griddle set in the middle of the kitchen table.  Okonomiyaki is a japanese savoury pancake and again, depending on the region of Japan you’re in, the ingredients change.  Hiroshima style is the most famous – with yakisoba (fried noodles) and a ton of okonomiyaki sauce (similar to worcestershire sauce), mayonnaise, aonori (flaked seaweed) and beni shoga (pickled ginger).  The pancake contains cabbage, bean sprouts, thin slices of pork and egg.  In Hiroshima, there is a famous 6 floor building called Okonomimura that houses floors of multiple okonomiyaki stalls.  You can travel from floor to floor and grab a seat at the teppan (grill) and watch your okonomiyaki being made right before your eyes.  For 700yen (approx. $8.20) you get a delicious meal full of flavour and texture.