Saturday nights with good friends are definitely very high on my list of things that I love. But when that Saturday night with friends is mixed with good food, well I just call that a small taste of heaven. This particular Saturday night was spent at an okonomiyaki restaurant. Those of you who followed my vlogs might remember hearing me say it is one of my favorite festival foods in Japan. I didn’t even realize that they had restaurants that catered primarily to okonomiyaki. I thought it was food that I could only enjoy at festivals. I’m really glad I was wrong.
The bit about okonomiyaki starts at time code 7:15. But feel free to enjoy the entire festival. it was a fun one.
Pancake or Fritter?
Okonomiyaki has been described as a type of pancake. But I think a more accurate description would be that it’s a type of fritter. My fellow Jamaicans and Caribbean people would probably understand this reference more readily. It’s basically flour that is mixed with other ingredients of your choice. Whether those ingredients are only vegetables for the vegetarians, or vegetables mixed with meat or seafood for those of us who are not, its a mixture that creates a scrumptious taste. Okonomiyaki loosely translated, means ‘as you like it’, which is quite fitting. You can add any of your favorite ingredients to your own personalized okonomiyaki. There are, however, some key ingredients that remain constant, for example, the flour which is a necessity and the cabbage.
There are quite a few okonomiyaki restaurants all over Japan but it is a food that is native to Osaka prefecture in Japan. This particular night we went to Dohtonbori in Koriyama. A cute little restaurant in the city.
Hungry and ready to eat just about anything, we entered the restaurant and were greeted with the sweet smell of roasting vegetables and grilled meat. There was also the wonderful sound of meat sizzling on the fire. This was then topped by the sound of children laughing as they part took in cooking a lovely meal with their family over an almost open fire. Yes, in this particular okonomiyaki restaurant the guests cook the food themselves. I know that might seem scary, but it is not as daunting as it may sound. It’s quite simple, even the inexperienced cooks among us can enjoy it.
Each table/seat is equipped with its own hot plate on which you can prepare your okonomiyaki.
How it’s done
First you check the menu and decide what you want. You can get a plain one that has only a few base ingredients such as flour, cabbage, egg and vegetables. Or you can get one with shrimp or meat added to the mix. They give you the ingredients all in a bowl and you mix them together with a wooden spoon.
After you have mixed it until your heart's content, pour it onto the hot stove. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Leave it on the stove for a few minutes until you're sure its cooked on that side before you attempt to flip it, or your perfect okonomiyaki shape will be ruined. But it doesn't affect the taste so either way you'll be alright. It’s best to use both of the iron spatulas to flip your okonomiyaki though, just to be safe.
Then garnish with the spice or sauce of your choice. The options are usually provided right there at your table.
Then enjoy. Yummy in my tummy!
And just like that its almost all gone.
The joy of happy strangers
Great food ... check. Good friends ... check. Good vibes .... check. I thought I had all I needed in that moment. Then a precocious little girl came along and made me realize there was a lot more joy to be had that night. The seat beside us was filled by a husband and his wife, and their three children. The youngest girl was very cute and precocious. She kept asking us questions all throughout the meal. Pretty soon, she was joined by her older brother and sister. In that moment it seemed like we were no longer strangers having a meal at a restaurant, but invited guests to their Saturday night dinner.
We spoke about our experiences in Japan, our jobs, our fear of the upcoming winter, which we all agreed, is the worst season ever. For that hour and a half we had an easy conversation in broken Japanese and half pronounced English words with some lovely people. It proved that happiness is the only language we need to communicate. What a lovely night it was, shared with old friends and new ones. So on a lovely Saturday night, we were won over by a happy little girl, her precious family and some delicious okonomiyaki or ‘as you like it’ and we surely did.
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