Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake with cabbage, bean sprout, noodles, sliced pork belly, and a fried egg, topped with savory sauce and Japanese mayo. Watch the video tutorial for step-by-step instructions!
Have you tried Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) before? It’s a Japanese savory pancake that contains a variety of ingredients. “Okonomi” in Japanese means “as you like it”, so it’s a savory pancake that contains whatever ingredients you like.
Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki (広島風お好み焼き) is a type of Okonomiyaki that originated in Hiroshima, Japan.
Two Styles of Okonomiyaki
1. Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki
Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki is made of batter, which includes flour and water or dashi, shredded cabbage, egg, and green onion along with the protein of your choice, such as pork belly slices or seafood.
You can find my Osaka-style Okonomiyaki recipe here.
2. Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki
Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki uses almost the same ingredients, but they are layered rather than mixed in with the batter like Osaka-style. Not only that, fried egg and yakisoba noodles (or sometimes udon noodles) are used as toppings.
When you are in Hiroshima and order “okonomiyaki”, this layered okonomiyaki with noodles and fried egg would come to the table instead of Osaka-style Okonomiyaki.
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki has been around since the 1950s. At that time, the country was quite poor and people only used a little bit of flour and vegetables to make Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.
The current Hiroshima Okonomiyaki with meat, egg, and noodles is a version that has evolved throughout the years. Nowadays there are over 2,000 restaurants within the Hiroshima area that specialized in Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki!
Osaka vs. Hiroshima
Which one is tastier? Well, that’s really up to your preference. If you like fried noodles and less doughy texture, Hiroshima okonomiyaki is definitely your choice.
I like both styles of okonomiyaki, so it’d be very hard for me to pick just one! At home, I just cook them alternatively.
3 Okonomiyaki Toppings
1. Okonomi Sauce
I would say the important and delicious element for both Hiroshima- and Osaka-style okonomiyaki is the Okonomi Sauce (お好みソース).
Originally, Worcestershire sauce was used but throughout the years the flavor has evolved to the current flavor. Okonomi Sauce has a sweet and sour flavor that’s slightly different from Tonkatsu Sauce and it’s thicker consistency so it goes well with Okonomiyaki. Oh so delicious!
2. Japanese Mayonnaise
Some people would call Japanese mayo Kewpie Mayo. It has a sweet and tangy flavor that is well-balanced.
Many JOC readers have told me that they haven’t gone back to the original mayo they had been using since they tasted Japanese mayonnaise!
3. Aonori (dried green seaweed):
It is dried green (Ao) seaweed (Nori) flakes/powder. This umami-rich seaweed has a bright intense green color and has a unique fragrant.
Japan has many types of seaweed from wakame, nori, to kombu. We use the specific name for each type of seaweed instead of just calling them “seaweed”. It helps identify which is the correct seaweed for a different type of dishes.
You can buy Aonori from Amazon and Japanese/Asian grocery stores. Or you can substitute with regular nori if you can’t find it.
Itadakimasu!
I hope my tutorial video and step-by-step instructions with pictures would help you achieve the delicious Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki! If you haven’t tried Osaka-style, give it a try next!
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Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki
Video
Ingredients
- 150 ml water (⅔ cup minus 2 tsp)
- 1 tsp mirin
- 100 g cake flour (¾ cup + 1½ Tbsp; you can make homemade cake flour; or substitute all-purpose flour in a pinch)
- 8.5 oz green cabbage (about 3 large cabbage leaves)
- 1 green onion/scallion
- 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
- 4 Tbsp tenkasu/agedama (tempura scraps) (12 g)
- 2 oz bean sprouts (about 1 handful)
- 2 Tbsp tororo kombu (optional; you can buy online)
- 6 slices sliced pork belly
- 2 servings yakisoba noodles
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
Toppings
- okonomiyaki sauce (you can also make my homemade okonomiyaki sauce recipe)
- Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
- aonori (dried green laver seaweed)
- pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga) (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, add 150 ml water (⅔ cup minus 2 tsp) and 1 tsp mirin.
- Add 100 g cake flour (¾ cup + 1½ Tbsp) and whisk until combined. Chill the batter for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator so the texture will become smooth.
- Meanwhile, cut 8.5 oz green cabbage and 1 green onion/scallion into thin slices. A good sharp knife will help you cut the cabbage into thin slices.
- Grind 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) in a mortar and pestle until it becomes fine powder.
- After chilling in the refrigerator, the batter will become smoother.
- We will make one Okonomiyaki at a time (unless you are comfortable making two at the same time). Keep in mind the ingredients are for 2 servings so divide all the ingredients into 2 equal parts.
- Heat a large non-stick griddle (I use this electric griddle at home) to 340°F (170°C). Pour about ¼ cup batter onto the hot griddle. Immediately using the back of the ladle, move the ladle in a spiral motion from the center towards the edge of the batter (see the video). This process will make the batter thin out and maintain a nice round shape. The width of the “crepe” should be about 8–9 inches (20–23 cm).
- Sprinkle 1 Tbsp ground katsuobushi on the batter and place the cabbage on top.
- Next, put 1 Tbsp tenkasu/agedama (tempura scraps), some of the scallion, and 1 oz bean sprouts on top.
- Then, put 1 Tbsp tororo kombu (optional) and 3 slices thinly sliced pork belly without overlapping.
- Pour 1 Tbsp batter on top (this will act as glue). Using two spatulas one on each side, carefully and quickly flip. Turn the heat to 390°F (200°C) to cook the meat. Don’t press down the “crepe” with the spatula yet (you will do it so on Step 13). When the pork belly is no longer pink, turn the heat down to 340°F (170°C) and move the Okonomiyaki to the side. If you are using a frying pan instead of the griddle, start heating up another frying pan.
- Separate 1 serving yakisoba noodles with your hands and place them in the open space on the griddle (or the 2nd frying pan). Stir-fry the noodles until they are coated with oil. Add 1–2 Tbsp okonomi sauce and coat the noodles.
- Make the noodles into a round shape similar to the same size as the “crepe”. Now using two spatulas, transfer the Okonomiyaki on top of the noodles.
- Heat the oil in the open space and crack 1 large egg. Quickly spread the egg into the same size as Okonomiyaki.
- Before the egg is completely cooked, place the Okonomiyaki on top of the egg (see the video).
- When the bottom of the egg is cooked, using the two spatulas, flip the Okonomiyaki for the last time.
- Drizzle okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and sprinkle aonori (dried green laver seaweed) on top. Garnish with pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga), if desired. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition
Other Pancake Recipes on Just One Cookbook
- Korean Pancake (savory)
- Osaka-Style Pancake (savory)
- Red Bean Pancake (sweet)
- Fluffy Japanese Souffle Pancake (sweet)
When I was on a tour of the Wood Egg Okonomiyaki museum in Japan, each visitor was given a bottle of freshly made Otafuku okonomiyaki sauce. So I had to try your recipe back home after the trip to Japan. My daughter said to keep your recipe, it tasted “legit” to her, similar to the okonomiyaki we ate in Hiroshima. Only thing is, the batter was too thick when I followed the water & flour quantities in the recipe, it was not as smooth flowing as shown in the video, so I had to keep adding water to make it the same consistency as in the video . Perhaps there is a typo in the recipe?
Hi Bernie! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe! We hope you enjoy your visit to the Okonomiyaki Museum. Yes! We hope the sauce tastes comparable to what you’ll taste in Japan. 😉
As for the batter, what type of flour did you use? It might be the type or brand of flour you used, or if you used the cup to measure the ingredient, it may have packed too much flour. If you haven’t used the scale before, we highly recommend it. We hope this is helpful.
I used plain flour, and used the food weighing scale using the metric measurements in the recipe. For the water, I used a measuring cup. That’s why I wondered whether the recipe had a typo for the flour and water.
Hello, Bernie. I had Nami double-check her recipe, but there seemed to be no errors. Maybe it got overmixed?
Is there anything you would recommend substituting for egg? My daughter is obsessed with Japanese culture and I would love to make this for her, but she has dairy and egg allergies. This was my favorite dish I enjoyed when I visited Japan so I would love to be able to share such a wonderful dish with her!
thanks!!
Hi Shelly! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
You can skip the fried egg or make another crepe instead.
We hope you and your daughter enjoy this dish!☺️