Being Fancy with Family: Homemade Okonomiyaki

I don't know if I've said it before, but I'll say it now. I am obsessed with Japanese culture. The biggest one might be my love for Manga and Anime. When I was young, our local channels showed Filipino dubbed anime, and that was when it started. As I indulged in more Anime, I hated how I missed on the story when I wasn't able to watch an episode, some were cancelled, or some didn't get dubbed. That's when I got into Manga, since they are usually the original source material.

As I got introduced to more Japanese culture through Anime and Manga, I began to appreciate even more things. The one I want to focus on today is Japanese food. I love the variety of their dishes, from the very simple Sashimi, a full meal in every bite Sushi, fried food like Tempura, easy to eat rice toppings, and to the time consuming Ramen just to name a few.

I like eating, but I don't like cooking. If there is one cuisine that I will want to learn how to cook well, it will be Japanese food. Filipino food is not included since it is very easy to find good ones in the Philippines. There are a lot of good Japanese restaurants as well, but they usually cost a lot more.

Luckily, I am not alone in my love of Japanese food. My sister and brother-in-law also loves it. That is why for this weekend he decided to make an Okonomiyaki. If I were to describe Okonomiyaki in simple terms, it is basically the Japanese version of pancakes, with a lot of added ingredients on top. Instead of just sweet syrup, it has a good mix of flavors. Fun trivia, I first saw an Okonomiyaki from the Ranma 1/2 anime. Those who know will remember Okonomiyaki Ukyo.

I was surprised that the process was simpler than I expected, but that there were more ingredients even in just the batter. The initial part was similar to a pancake where the batter is cooked. Afterwards, the toppings were layered on top one by one. The first one was the okonomiyaki sauce, followed by the Kewpie mayo. Next is the dried bonito flakes.

The sprinkling of the dried bonito flakes was really interesting. Because they are so thin, and the okonomiyaki is still hot, the steam affects them and actually makes them move and look like they were alive.

Finally, the rest of the ingredients are placed on top of it. It was then topped off with the green onions, seaweed, and more Kewpie Mayo. More sauce can be added if anyone wanted a stronger flavor. We then divided it into four.

The first bite was amazing. I can immediately taste all the different flavors. I haven't had a lot of Okonomiyaki before, but this is definitely better than the ones I've had. There weren't a lot of restaurants that served Okonomiyaki, and it usually isn't their specialty.

Since there was only one serving left, I savored every bite. But being a big eater, I wasn't full with just that. Since they how how I loved it, they let me have the last serving, and I was more than happy to take it.

I know that this is still far from the best Okonomiyaki there is. That is why going to Japan is one of my bucket list. If I can, I will try to go to the different areas and try out all their specialties. But for now, I'll keep appreciating all that I can get.