Okonomiyaki — The Hiroshima vs. Osaka Debate and How to Make Both

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) — okonomi (お好み = what you like) + yaki (焼き = grilled) = "grill what you like" — is Japan's customizable savory pancake. The "what you like" refers to the toppings and fillings: pork belly, shrimp, cabbage, cheese, squid, kimchi, and anything else deemed appropriate.

But the base technique itself is not "what you like" — it is either Osaka-style or Hiroshima-style, and these are structurally different dishes.

Osaka Style (大阪風) — The Mixed Version

Also called Kansai-style or Kyoto-style. All ingredients are mixed into the batter before cooking.

The batter:

• Cake flour or okonomiyaki flour (with dashi powder and mountain yam powder already incorporated if using specialty flour)
• Water or dashi
• Eggs
• Shredded napa cabbage (by far the largest volume ingredient — should be 50% or more of total batter by weight)
• Nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam, grated) — produces the characteristic light, fluffy interior (the mucilage in nagaimo traps air)
• Tenkasu (tempura scraps) for crunch
• Protein (pork belly slices placed on top after spreading, OR mixed in)

Method:

1. Mix batter ingredients until just combined (do not overmix — develops gluten, makes it tough)
2. Pour onto a hot oiled griddle into a round shape
3. Lay pork belly slices on top
4. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes until bottom is set
5. Flip carefully (the size requires a wide spatula)
6. Cook 3-4 minutes until cooked through
7. Flip again to finish top

The surface: Must be a flat iron griddle (teppan) — home versions use a large frying pan, but the flat surface is essential for even cooking.

Hiroshima Style (広島風) — The Layered Version

Also called modan-yaki when made at home. Ingredients are layered in sequence on the griddle, not mixed.

The structure (bottom to top):

1. Thin crepe-like batter poured in a circle (much thinner than Osaka style)
2. Large mound of shredded cabbage and bean sprouts placed on top
3. Pork belly slices draped over the cabbage
4. Octopus, shrimp, or other protein (optional)
5. A second thin pour of batter over the top to bind
6. Flip and cook; then
7. Yakisoba noodles cooked separately, placed on the griddle in a flat round
8. The main layered pancake placed face-down on top of the noodles
9. An egg cracked and spread on the griddle; the assembly placed on top of the egg
10. Final flip so egg is on top

The result is a tall, layered structure: thin egg base, noodles, cabbage-pork pancake layers — all distinct, not mixed.

The Toppings (Both Styles)

Okonomiyaki sauce: A sweet-savory thick sauce, similar to a Worcestershire-Bulldog hybrid. Drizzle in a cross-hatch pattern.

Kewpie mayo: Japanese mayo with more egg yolk and rice vinegar than regular mayo. Applied in parallel lines or zigzags.

Aonori (青のり): Dried green seaweed powder. Scattered over the entire surface.

Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes): The waving bonito flakes that undulate in the rising heat — the signature visual of okonomiyaki.

Which Is Better?

Not the right question. They're designed for different things:

• Osaka style: unified, the ingredient integration is the point, cohesive bite
• Hiroshima style: textural contrast is the point — the layers remain distinct

Most serious okonomiyaki devotees argue the city of origin produces the correct answer. Osaka chefs consider Hiroshima style overly complicated; Hiroshima chefs consider Osaka style a glorified pancake.

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Okonomiyaki's flexibility — the "what you like" of the name — is why it's been a staple of Japanese casual dining for a century. But the two foundational styles represent two genuine cooking philosophies: the unified whole (Osaka) versus the ordered assembly of distinct elements (Hiroshima).