If you have been to Japan and tried okonomiyaki you would agree that it is one of the tastiest Japanese dishes. But did you know there is a long-standing battle between Osaka and Hiroshima style okonomiyaki? If you spoke to people of Osaka, they would say Osaka is the real origin of okonomiyaki and Osaka style okonomiyaki is tastier. But in Hiroshima, you would not mention that or you would be very unpopular. People of Hiroshima rightly believe theirs is the true okonomiyaki and the tastiest.

On this blog, we will show you their differences and recipes of both styles, so you could be the judge!

At Journey to the East, we are fortunate to have relationship with both regions. Our client support officer, Ritsuko is from Osaka. And one of our Japan staff, Eri is based in Hiroshima, and her husband, Ricky Chandra from Sydney currently works at an okonomiyaki restaurant Lopez in Hiroshima. The following recipes are from Ritsuko and Ricky. Thank you both!

Main differences

Basic ingredients are the same. Flour, shredded cabbage, eggs, pork, most importantly okonomiyaki sauce. The main difference is in the construction. The Osaka style mixes the shredded cabbage into the batter while the Hiroshima style cooks them separately. Eggs are whisked and mixed in the batter in the Osaka style whereas an extra egg is fried separately on hot iron pan and okonomiyaki is placed on top before it is flipped over to show the egg on top in the Hiroshima style.

The osaka style is usually thick and fluffy. To make it light and fluffy, grated yam and tenkasu (small balls of fried batter – a byproduct of making tempura) are mixed in the batter. The Hiroshima style is constructed by layers – crepe like base with a layer of shredded cabbage, then topped with sliced pork and other toppings.

The rest is very similar. The word “okonomi” means “as you like”, so the idea is you add anything you like. The most common topping is thinly sliced pork belly, but you can have seafood (prawns, octopus, squid etc.), cheese or mochi (rice cake). In Hiroshima, you often see the one with oysters, which is Hiroshima’s main product.

Now it is your turn. The recipes are provided below. In restaurants you see a large iron plate where chefs cook dozens of okonomiyaki at once, but at home, all you need is a frying pan (or two for the Hiroshima style).

Osaka Style Okonomiyaki Recipe

Osaka Style Okonomiyaki (serves 2)

• 120 g thinly sliced pork
• 100 g plain flour
• 160 ml milk (makes the batter fluffier than water)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon bonito stock powder *
• 2 tablespoon grated yam * (optional)
• 2 tablespoon tenkasu * (optional)
• 1 tablespoon red pickled ginger * (optional)
• 150 g shredded cabbage
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying

Toppings

Add Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes *, aonori (green seaweed flakes) to your liking.

*you can buy these items from Asian grocery stores.

Cooking method

1. Cut pork into 10 cm long slices.
2. Place flour, bonito stock powder and milk, and mix well with a whisk to make batter.
3. Add beaten eggs, tenkasu, yam, and shredded cabbage and lightly mix (do not overbeat to keep the batter light and fluffy.
4. Heat a frying pan and add oil (medium to high heat)
5. Pour the batter in to the pan and evenly spread. At this point it is important to keep it thick (1-2 cm at least).
6. Place pork slices on top and cook the okonomiyaki on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
7. Flip the okonomiyaki using a plate or a large spatula, and cook further 3-5 minutes until the pork side is nice and crisp.
8. Serve on a plate with the pork side up.
9. Spread okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise on top, and sprinkle over bonito flakes and aonori.

Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki Recipe

Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki (serves 2)

• 150 g plain flour
• 50 ml milk
• 100 ml water
• 3 eggs
• Cabbage
• Bean sprouts
• Dashi powder*
• Tenkasu * (optional)
• Salt
• Onion powder
• Sliced pork belly
• Yaki soba noodle (or egg noodle for stir fry)
• 2 x 26 cm frying pans
• Vegetable oil
• Okonomiyaki sauce (Otafuku brand is the most popular)
• Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes *, aonori (green seaweed flakes) as desired

*you can buy these items from Asian grocery stores.

Cooking method 

Crepes

1. Whisk one egg, water and milk until combined.
2. Add 75 g sifted flour to the egg mixture. Whisk the mixture until smooth and air bubble starts to appear. (Make sure you hit the side of the bowl when whisking to work the gluten.)
3. Continue adding the rest of the flour and whisk until you reach crepe batter consistency. (Do not overbeat the batter or you will end up with runny batter.)
4. Cover the batter with cling wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight preferably).

Cabbage

1. Turn the cabbage stalk side up.
2. Using cabbage stalk as a guide, cut the cabbage to half. Then cut the each half to two parts. By now, you will have four wedges of cabbage.
3. Cut the cabbage against the grain to long thin slices (approximately 2 mm thickness)

Okonomiyaki

1. Brush frying pan with oil.
2. On a low heat, pour the batter to the first frying pan. Using the back of ladle, spread the batter in circular motion around the pan to create the base. (The base of Hiroshima style okonomiyaki should be thin like a crepe.)
3. Fluff up the cabbage, create a ball of cabbage nest and place it to the base (crepe).
4. Add bean sprout and tenkasu.
5. Season with dashi, salt and onion powder.
6. Add sliced pork belly.
7. Drizzle a little bit of the crepe batter on top.
8. Increase heat to medium high.
9. Once the base turns golden brown, using two spatulas flip the okonomiyaki. (Now the pork is at the bottom).
10. Cook the okonomiyaki until cabbage is fully steamed and slightly charred.
11. On the second frying pan, stir fry the yakisoba noodle with a little bit of vegetable oil. Season with salt, while pepper and onion powder.
12. Spread the noodle on the second frying pan (same size as the okonomiyaki base), now transfer the okonomiyaki from the first frying pan to top of the noodle.
13. Press the top of the base to compress the cabbage and noodles until it sets.
14. Back to the first (now empty) frying pan, crack an egg and then transfer the okonomiyaki back to the top of the egg. Cook the egg to desired. Once done, using two spatulas, flip the okonomiyaki (now the egg side is up).
15. Brush the okonomiyaki with okonomiyaki sauce and sprinkle with white pepper and aonori.

Remember, okonomiyaki means “to your liking” so you can add toppings such as cheese, squid, prawns, mochi (rice cake).

I hope you enjoy the Japanese home cooking okonomiyaki recipes for Osaka style and Hiroshima style.

Journey to the East offers a range of excellent Food Tours of Japan and each of them include a fun cooking class by professionals. Please check them out!

The cherry blossoms usually start fully blooming in the southern part of Japan around the end of March and gradually move up to the northern part of Japan. The blooming time is only for a week or two. What makes cherry blossoms even more attractive is that they are so fragile, short-lived and scatter their petals just a few days after they flower.

Sakura (cherry blossoms) are closely tied to Japanese history, culture and identity. Originally used to divine the year’s harvest, sakura came to embody “wabi-sabi” philosophy and shinto ideals of impermanence, hope and renewal.

Spring is also the special season for many Japanese people. Being 1st of April is the beginning of financial year in Japan, our new chapter of life usually starts in April – new school, new semester, university entrance or very first full-time job after graduating from school. School graduations are in March and entrance ceremonies are in April, new friends at the new place, the beautiful cherry blossom has somehow always been in my childhood memories.

Each year when the spring season comes, Japanese people go outside and gather together to admire the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

Why not enjoy the sakura (cherry blossoms) in the Japanese way while you are in Japan?

What is Hanami ?

Hanami (花見), which lietrally means “flower viewing” in Japanese, is the traditional custom of enjoying and admiring the beauty of cherry blossoms.

People sit under cerry blossom trees in a park, gather in a group of family and friends, eat, drink and chat for hours.

Hanami is like a picnic or a party in the cherry blossom season, and some groups actually stay there all day into the night time.

Hanami at night is called Yozakura (夜桜). The illuminated sakura trees and falling petals create the most fantastic atmosphere.

How to enjoy Hanami?

There are many sites throughout the country famous for their spectacular blossoms, such as parks, mountains, sakura-lined streets, temples and shrines. You can enjoy Hanami under the sakura trees at any parks. Popular sites often become very crowded with lots of people so you need to go early and secure your spot. Some places have yatai (mobile food stalls) where you can buy street food and drinks.

Why not stop for a while, admire the beauty of cherry blossoms, relax and have your obento and drink under the cherry blossoms?

If you like to know when is the best time to see cherry blossoms to plan your trip, you might find the Sakura forecast is very useful! Every year, Japan Meteorological Corporation release its forecast of cherry blossoms flowering in each area. Remember though, even in the same city the peak blossom time may vary based on the species of cherry trees in the park, so use expert knowledge to be at the right place at the right time.

What to bring to Hanami?

• Picnic sheet – Bring your own picnic sheet. You can sit down, lie down and relax under the sakura tree. 
• Rubbish bags – You will need to take your rubbish with you when you leave the site. Most of Hanami sites do not have rubbish bins in place.  
• Wet wipes/ hand sanitiser – Everyone probably will have them in this COVID situation today, but bear in mind sometime public water access is hard to find. 
• Obento – You can find gorgeous and beautiful obento boxes which are specifically made for Hanami at department stores or supermarkets. There are many in varieties from Japanese style obento to sandwiches or a mixed-platters.
• Snacks & Drinks – Bring enough snacks and drinks to treat everyone! You will find lots of items (such as cans of beer, bottles of tea, or boxes of chocolate) with pretty pink sakura design. They are only available for the short cherry blossoms season. 
• Sakura mochi – Special Japanese sweets for the season! It is a pink rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste and wrapped in a salt-preserved cherry blossom leaf.
• Cash – Some places have yatai (small food stalls), and they usually accept cash only. 

We are offering a wide range of Cherry Blossom Tours of Japan. Each of our spring tours has been specifically designed to show you the best of Japan during Japan’s famous cherry blossom season. On each trip the settings are different to take advantage of the season as it rolls by each year. We are also happy to arrange customised Private Tours specifically for you.

Choose springtime in Japan with Cherry Blossom Tours of Journey to the East to take you to the magnificent Japanese cherry blossoms at just the right time, and you know it is going to be a holiday of a lifetime.

We look forward to showing you beautiful Japan as soon as possible!

Recipe for tempura

You can tempura almost any vegetables, seafood and meat. Common items are prawns, calamari, fish, onion, pumpkin, carrots, capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms, etc. I also like asparagus, sweet potatoes, zucchini and corn. The only thing you have to be careful of is that the ingredients do not contain a lot of moisture. Vegetables like tomato are therefore not very suitable. Make sure you pat dry the ingredients with paper towel before dipping it into your batter.

As I wrote in my Karaage recipe, temperature of oil is very important. Tempura needs hot oil, so make sure you get bubbles when you submerge your wooden long chopsticks in the oil.

Ingredients for vegetables and seafood tempura (serves 2)

• 4 prawns
• 1 squid tube
• 4 asparagus
• 1/2 capsicum
• 1 egg (cold straight from fridge)
• 150 ml cold water
• 1 cup (110 g) plain flour
• oil for deep frying (canola or vegetable oil is fine)

Cooking method

1. Peel and de-vein prawns. Leave the tail on.
2. Cut squid into 1-inch squares
3. Cut asparagus in half
4. Slice capsicum into wide strips
5. To make batter, break an egg into a large bowl and mix well with folk. Add cold water and mix well. It is important that this liquid is cold to make tempura crips. Some people also add ice cubes.
6. Add flour. Do not beat too much. You can leave some lumps of flour. Again, this is a very important point. Otherwise, your tempura becomes heavy and chewy.
7. Pat all your tempura ingredients dry before dipping them into your batter.
8. Heat oil in heavy frying pan to 180-190°C.
9. Place your vegetables and seafood into the pan slowly, one by one.
10. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the temperature will drop and your tempura will become soggy.
11. Place cooked tempura on paper towel to drain excess oil.

Recipe for dipping sauce

To make a dipping sauce, just mix dashi master sauce with hot water. You can find my dashi master sauce recipe in another blog.

Alternatively, you can purchase sauce in a bottle. It is called “Dashi tsuyu”.

Ingredients for tempura dipping sauce 

• 1 cup dashi master sauce,
• 1 cup hot water.

I hope you enjoy the Japanese home cooking recipe for tempura.

Journey to the East offers a range of excellent Food Tours of Japan and each of them include a fun cooking class by professionals. Please check them out!

Another popular Japanese dish I show you today is Japanese style potato salad as it is a typical accompaniment for chicken karaage. Usually the potatoes are more mashed than in other styles of potato salad and it has a lot of Japanese mayonnaise. Both dishes are great for hot summer night with cold (Japanese) beer!

Recipe for Chicken Karaage

You can use any part of chichen for this recipe although I think chicken thigh fillets preferably and with the skin on is the best. Obviously you need to adjust your cooking time depending on the cuts of chicken you use.

Years ago I learnt this marinade from my friend who was a Japanese chef. The acid of tomatoes tenderizes the meat and gives great flavour.

Japanese often use a mix of flour and potato starch (katakuriko) for karaage batter, but I cannot find potato starch easily in Australia, so I use corn starch (corn flour) instead. Mixing flour with corn flour makes the chicken crispier, and gives a touch of difference to western style “fried chicken”.

The most important element for this recipe is temperature of oil. The best result can be achieved by frying the chicken twice, first at a lower temperature and at a higher temperature second. However, if you cannot be bothered with it (which I can understand!), at least you should start cooking chicken at a lower temperature around 160-170°C and gradually raise the temperature to 190°C. This way, you can make sure the chicken is cooked through and crisp outside.

I have a kitchen thermometer, but I use a Japanese traditional method of gauging oil temperature using a pair of Japanese cooking chopsticks (long wooden ones). Submerge the dry tip of chopsticks in oil, and if you see tiny bubbles from the tip, it is about 160°C. This is usually achieved in 2-3 minutes after you start heating the oil. When larger bubbles come up vigorously it is about 190°C.

Ingredients for chicken karaage

• 2 chicken thigh fillets (preferably skin on)
• 1 clove of garlic grated or finely chopped
• 1 ripe tomato roughly chopped
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs Japanese cooking sake (optional)
• 2 tbs plain flour
• 2 tbs corn flour
• oil for deep frying (canola or vegetable oil is fine)

Cooking method

1. Cut chicken fillets into bite size.
2. Mix chopped garlic, tomatoes, soy sauce and sake in a small bowl or a plastic bag and marinade the chicken for 20 minutes.
3. Remove chunks of tomato, and add flour and corn flower to the plastic bag (or the bowl) and mix well.
4. Heat oil in heavy frying pan and add chicken when the temperature reached 160°C.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes and take the chicken pieces out. Rest the chicken for a few minutes.
6. Increase the heat to raise the temperature of oil to 180-190°C.
7. Return the chicken to the pan and cook further 1-2 minutes.
8. Serve with a wedge of lemon if you like.

Recipe for Japanese style Potato Sald

Japanese style potato salad is also very popular, and has endless variety in its recipes. The one I share with you here, is one of the most authentic and basic.

The key is cooking duration of the potatoes. Some people cook the potatoes very soft and mash them completely, but I like to leave some shapes and texture. So, I used a knife to mash potatoes rather than a masher. If you cook the potatoes whole (with skin on), it holds flavour and juiciness, but if you don’t have time, you can peel and dice the potatoes before cooking.

As an option for preparing your cucumber, instead of just slicing and adding it to the potatoes, if you slice the cucumber, sprinkle salt on it, leave it for a few minutes, then you can squeeze the excess water from the cucumber. This will add saltiness to the salad but the cucumber will be soft. So if you like your cucumber crunchy, just slicing is better.

One of the most important elements to me is the colour balance. It has to have white of potatoes, green of cucumber plus the red of tomatoes and carrot. Yellow from boiled egg is also nice too. So long as you have those colours in balance, you can substitute the ingredients. For example, my husband does not like cucumber, so we use frozen peas instead. You can add diced ham to make it more substantial.

To serve, you can mix everything together, or just mix potato, cucumber and carrots and arrange tomato and egg on top to highlight the colours like I did.

Ingredients for Japanese style potato salad

• 2 large potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 tomato
• 1 Lebanese cucumber
• 1 egg hard boiled
• 4 tbs Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking method

1. Cook potatoes as whole with skin on in a large pot from cold water until you can insert a skewer easily.
2. Slice cucumber to 2-3 mm thickness.
3. Cut carrot to small dice and cook in a microwave for a few minutes.
4. Dice tomatoes and boiled egg.
5. Drain the potatoes and put in a large bowl. Cool, peel and mash roughly.
6. Add carrot and cucumber and mix.
7. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper if you need.
8. Serve on a plate and arrange tomato and boiled egg on top.

I hope you enjoy the Japanese home cooking recipes for chicken karaage and Japanese style potato salad.

Have you read my Japanese home cooking recipe blogs for fish and dashi master sauce? I would love to hear what you made.

Journey to the East offers a range of excellent Food Tours of Japan and each of them include a cooking class by professionals. Please check them out!

There is a wide range of choices in the Japanese food scene from yatai* and izakaya style local pubs to Michelin starred restaurants. You will also be amazed by varieties of packed obento boxes, sandwiches and sweets at convenience stores in Japan. If food is one of the top reasons you visit Japan you do not want to miss experiencing street food during your stay. Therefore, I am focusing on top street food in Japan today.

*Yatai is a small, mobile food stall that can be found on the streets and at festivals. As yatai food is cheap and fast but very tasty, you can enjoy many kinds of street foods such as kakigo-ri (shaved ice dessert), ikayaki (grilled squid), karaage (deep fried chicken), yakisoba (noodles) and grilled corn on the go. You will usually see a lot more varieties of speciality yatai during the festival seasons.

Street Food Top 1: Takoyaki

Takoyaki (octopus balls) is known as a soul food for people in Osaka. It is so popular and would be on anybody’s top 5 street food list! Takoyaki is a round, made from batter with a piece of octopus in it and fried. Must-try food when you are in Osaka. But, be careful not to burn your mouth!

You can watch how they are made at any yatai and you will be surprised how fast those experts can make lots of balls of takoyaki. There is also a DIY takoyaki restaurant where you can try your own creation at your table. You will have so much fun making them!

Street Food Top 2: Yakitori

Yakitori is a grilled chicken on skewers with variety of vegetables and chicken parts such as chicken thigh, wings, skin, and meatballs.

“Yaki” means grilled and “Tori” actually means chicken, however you might also find choices of beef and pork.

They are usually cooked over charcoal grill and freshly made with your choice of shio (salt) or tare (special sauce). Yakitori is the best match with a glass of cold beer!

Street Food Top 3: Taiyaki

Taiyaki is a fish shaped sweet cake filled with red beans. You will also find other flavours such as custard cream, chocolate or matcha cream fillings at some shops. Taiyaki is a traditional street snack, crispy outside, and warm and soft inside.
You find them pretty much anywhere in Japan, but my recommendation is a shop in an old shopping street where local people go. Why not have a short break with taiyaki and a cup of green tea while sightseeing or shopping in Japan?

Street Food Top 4: Ramen

Ramen is one of the most popular Japanese foods in the world today.  If you have not tried Hakata Ramen yet, I highly recommend you go to Hakata in Fukuoka prefecture.\.

Hakata is also famous for their yatai food culture and as well as ramen you will also find lots of nice food stalls there. The open-air food stalls “yatai” are set up on the street from early evening till after mid night. Ramen is a popular dish at a yatai around midnight. Why? It is a kind of Japanese culture that people eat ramen after drinking alcohol before going home.

As a yatai is small, usually less than 10 people can be seated at one time, it is a great opportunity to have a chat with friendly local people and enjoy drinking together!

Our Food & Cherry Blossom Tour of Kyushu and Food Tour of Kyushu in Autumn includes Yatai experience in Hakata.

Street Food Top 5: Crepes

Crepes are obviously not Japanese food but worth trying while you are in Japan!

They first appeared in Tokyo in the late 1970s and become one of the popular street foods that spread throughout the country today. There are so many flavours to choose from but probably the sweet crepe filled with whipped cream and lots of fruits or chocolate banana is the more popular one. You will also find savoury crepes filled with ham, bacon, cheese, egg, lettuce and so on. Interesting example of Japanised French food!

Have you tried some or all of the memorable street foods in Japan?? They are all perfect sweet or savoury snacks to eat on the go! Our local guides know their town inside out, and will show you the best street food in town and tell you their secrets.

If your reason to visit Japan is food, Journey to the East offers a number of Food Tours exploring whole range from excellent street food, modern fusion food and right through to gourmet dining at Michelin-starred restaurants.

Each of our Japan Food Tour itineraries is regionally specific, allowing you to appreciate the depth of the local food culture. The food trips also focus on seasonal variety. Through our expert knowledge and special connections, you will visit a selection of producers and interact with locals. All of these tours are carefully balanced for you to discover the Japanese culture, history, spectacular scenery and unexpected special encounters in Japan.