Modanyaki Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between okonomiyaki and Modanyaki? ›

Hiroshimafu-okonomiyaki is cooked by making layers of flour batter, yakisoba and pork, so each flavor and layer never get mixed, while Modanyaki is cooked by mixing and grilling okonomiyaki batter and yakisoba all together. Modanyaki is still Osaka styled Okonomiyaki but with Yakisoba in it.

When the okonomiyaki is ready, it is served sizzling on the hot iron plate. You eat the okonomiyaki from the hot iron plate, cutting and dividing it into bite-sized pieces with a spatula called a hera. Local people eat directly from the hera, but you can also use chopsticks and eat from a plate.

And as we mentioned above, it's much thicker than traditional Worcestershire sauce. OtaJoy's label lists sugar, white vinegar, molasses, salt, tomato paste, apple, carrot, peach, dates, onions, raisins, mushrooms, garlic, kelp and spices (you didn't think we were going to give away our secrets, now did you?)

No, unfortunately they're not the same thing. The first problem is a problem of base seasoning—Korean pancake mix usually has a more savory flavor profile of onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, etc. Okonomiyaki has sugar and dashi as primary flavoring.

A type of pan-fried batter or savoury pancake, monjayaki is Tokyo's answer to okonomiyaki, the iconic dish of Hiroshima and Osaka. Monjayaki retains a slightly runny appearance much like melted cheese even when cooked – but the delicious concoction tastes better than it looks.

Dashi is often referred to as the defining ingredient of Japanese cuisine. It is a delicate golden stock made from a combination of konbu (dried giant kelp) and flaked, dried bonito fish (katsuobushi).

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake)

In Osaka style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are mixed together and cooked together. In Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, all of the ingredients are layered almost like a cake. Soba or udon noodles are also added to Hiroshima-yaki in another layer as well. (Although they do add noodles to okonomiyaki in Osaka.

Okonomiyaki Recipe Tips

These come out best when they're made with really thin shreds of cabbage. If your cabbage is too chunky, they won't hold together well, and they'll have a denser, less delicate texture.

Katsuobushi (Japanese: 鰹節) is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis, sometimes referred to as bonito). It is also known as bonito flakes or broadly as okaka (おかか).

What is the English name for okonomiyaki? ›

Okonomiyaki is sometimes translated into English as "as-you-like-it pancake". However, this may be misleading. Though it does consist of batter cooked on a griddle, okonomiyaki has nothing of the sweetness or fluffiness of pancakes, not to mention that it is usually filled with octopus, shrimp, pork, yam or kimchi.

Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese style pancake and it's mostly divided into two styles: Osaka style and Hiroshima style. The Osaka style uses a variety of ingredients, including shredded cabbage, flour and eggs.

Okonomiyaki flour is made of unbleached wheat and soy flours, leavening and spices such as kelp for flavor. It's designed to rise naturally on its own, meaning you don't need to add extra ingredients like nagaimo to get thick, fluffy pancakes.

A close cousin to okonomiyaki is hiroshimayaki, or Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

Texture: Okonomiyaki is thicker and pancake-like, while monjayaki is often compared to melted cheese. This is because monjayaki batter contains more dashi stock or water than typical okonomiyaki batter.

Okonomiyaki, hailing from Osaka, features a thick batter loaded with cabbage and ingredients mixed together and cooked like a pancake. Monjayaki, from Tokyo, stands out with a thinner, runnier batter and a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

It is also called by an abbreviated name, "okono", where the O is a politeness prefix and kono means 'favorite'. A liquid-based okonomiyaki, popular in Tokyo, is called monjayaki (also written as monja yaki) and abbreviated as "monja".