I will eat okonomiyaki before death or die trying

[meganbmoore]

 I just read vol 18-19 of Hana Kimi, and while I don'y really have anything to say about the books...EVERYTIME I SEE SOMEONE MAKING OKONOMIYAKI IN ANIME/MANGA/DORAMAS I GET INSANELY HUNGRY BECAUSE IT LOOKS SO GOOD!

Even if I just ate.

Oh for a local Japanese place to try it out at...

(wonders if it's anything like egg fou yong)

Comments

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Dorams seem to be obsessed with food. And apparently wuxia too. The female stars must never eat except for on set to stay that skinny.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yes. The worst drama about food is Kekkon Dekkinai Otoko...almost every episode, they devote a scene to Abe Hiroshi cooking an amazing looking meal, and then eating it. The worst, though, was when he and the heroine went to an okonomiyaki place and he carefully detailed how to make the perfect okonomiyaki.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I finally got to experience okonomiyaki in Japan! The restaurant was small and smoky and very, very hot from all the griddle-things in the tables. The different okonomiyakis all tasted different because, naturally, they had different things in them. :) But they all had mounds of cabbage and an egg, and some sort of batter. You put okonomiyaki sauce and/or mayonnaise on top of them before you cut them up and ate them.

Not having had egg fou yong, I can't say. XD

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Mayonnaise I'm not big on, butthe rest sounds so good...

Egg Fou Yong is an omelette with meat, onions and bean sprouts covered in a brown sauce with peas, carrots and mushrooms. It's very yummy.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

This recipe (http://visualrecipes.com/recipe-details/recipe_id/120/Okonomiyaki-aka-Japanese-Pizza/) looks pretty close to what we had. Only the people at our table who were cooking it made sure to get it much rounder and neater-looking than that one. XD

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*drools*

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to remember exactly how it came. I *think* all the ingredients came in one bowl, with the batter on bottom, the cabbage on top of it, then the other ingredients, and finally the egg cracked on top. You mixed it all together in the bowl (and then laughed and used chopsticks to pick out the raw meat and things that needed to be cooked a bit before adding the rest that you forgot to remove before mixing), then poured the cabbage batter over the ingredients that were cooked first. And once you flipped it over, that was when you added the sauces and put bonito flakes on the top. It was great fun watching the bonito flakes as the sort of shivered and melted in the heat - it looked like dancing. XD

From what I understand, there are places like the one we went where you cook the stuff yourself, and others where they cook it for you, in front of you. Either way you basically get to pick the ingredients you want to put in it.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

so...yummy...

do you realize how hungry you're making me?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Probably about as hungry as I'm making *me* and I'm at work for at least 2 more hours. XD

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

4 hours, here...

[sanada.livejournal.com]

ooh, okonomiyaki is gooood. I like negiyaki too, that's okonomiyaki with chopped leeks in it. But every time I've tried to make it at home from scratch, it's come out really gross and undercooked in the middle and burned black on the edges. x__x But a friend of mine made it using an instant crepe mix and it turned out pretty well, so maybe I'll try that. I'm not big on mayo either but the kind of mayo they use is a little different with a more savory flavor. And mixed with the special sauce, it's sooooo goooooood.... damn it, now I'm hungry too!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*drools a bunch*

[chomiji]

This recipe makes it seem like a cross between a crepe and an omelette. My guess would be that you had your frying pan or griddle too hot, sanada. Slower cooking allows the middle to get done before the surface scorches.

(Hey, next time you come to visit, we could try making some - it sounds like something the crew would eat.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

you people are making me hungrier by the minute.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

My Japanese cookbook compares Okonomiyaki to stuffed pancakes. It's got a decent recipe if you like (including how to make the sauce) - it's not that difficult to make and tastes pretty good. The time I made it I didn't cut the cabbage fine enough and it would have been better if I had.

The recipe everyone's been linking to looks fairly similar to mine but it says it's Osaka style so I'm assuming mine's a bit different (unless you're wanting to bond with Nakatsu).

In Kimura Takuya's drama Good Luck they go to an Okonomiyaki place several times. Although I think Lunch Queen probably wins the prize for being obsessed about food - the name says it all, ne?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

How to make the sauce would be rather crucial, yeah.

Teppan Shojo Akane might win the food obsessed award...I only saw 1 ep of it, but there was a LOT of obsession w/ making food there.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Ooh - Teppan Shojo Akane is the drama starring Maki! (just made the connection - duh) I've been debating watching that simply because I like her so much. Do you recommend it?

Teppan Shojo Akane probably wins on food obsessions overall but there were scenes in Lunch Queen... I love how Jdramas can create moving, tearful moments of a person taking a single bite of food. And drag it out for 10 minutes!

I'll have to make a post sharing some of my favorite Japanese recipes so i don't clog up your replies with recipes.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Teppan Shojo Akane probably wins on food obsessions overall but there were scenes in Lunch Queen... I love how Jdramas can create moving, tearful moments of a person taking a single bite of food. And drag it out for 10 minutes!

Indeed.

I only watch the first ep of TSA. Maki was great and it was fun seeing her play a spunky go-getter, but I disliked all the other characters. And the guy who we were obviously meant to ship Maki with was mean to her and insulted her cooking, and not in a "you're a jerk, but you're fun" way. I do not tolerate being mean to Maki.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Maybe I'll watch the first and see how well I tolerate the meanness. When I first debated watching it I had just finished Lunch Queen and the idea of another food drama scared me off (as much as I adored Lunch Queen). But Maki has really grown on me lately so I may cave...

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Okonomiyaki is nice but not spectacular or anything :)