Okonomiyaki

Readers of the previous entry may recall that this particular okonomiyaki dinner was enjoyed after completing a trip to a famous Japanese mountain, Tateyama.  The only really meaningful connection that has to this post is that it explains why Ana and I are wearing our outdoor adventuring shirts in the pictures.  Speaking of pictures, they're all on Flickr.  Moving on!  OK, okonomiyaki is a form of Japanese cuisine that is sort of like giant cabbage-egg fritters, usually with some meat or seafood added in.  They're sizzled on a grill, often by the customer at their own table.  The characters read to me as something like "grilled things that like each other" or "favorite grilled thing", and I'm not sure if I like that or am creeped out by it.  The restaurant we like going to was back open after completing the renovations that had previously thwarted us, so obviously we went there.

Celebrating a good visit to Japan and some old friends, as well as a distinct lack of death or dismemberment during the recent alpine activities.

We all ordered extra larges, and what they bring to the table for each person looks like this.  In this bowl, cabbage, green onion, ginger, eggs, and beef.  I personally like the shrimp variety.

 Everybody needs to stir it up into an evenly distributed mixture.

 Sometimes people need help with this process.

 Sometimes people don't actually need or want help with this process, thank you very much.

 After greasing the griddle, the mixture is spread out onto it like so.  Four extra-large okonomiyaki are a tight fit.  We'd have liked to make them a bit thinner, but then they'd have merged and been impossible to flip.  There is an hourglass-type timer on the side of the table that runs out when it is time to flip the okonomiyaki.  This is always the most exciting part.

 Flipping can be a little tricky, especially with extra large okonomiyaki.

I demonstrate the exact technique I intended to...

 After they're safely flipped it is time to do toppings.  The Japanese tend to put everything on the top, which is sauce (sweet or hot), seaweed flakes, dried shaved bonito, pickled ginger, and lots of mayonnaise.  I prefer just hot sauce and shaved bonito myself.

After flipping, the real challenge is not to burn your mouth when it is actually time to eat.

And apparently to not make funny faces while dining in front of a man with a camera.

So I guess that just about covers the essential facts of okonomiyaki, and wraps up the series of entries related to our friends from college visiting us (and Japan).  The next morning they were out on an early flight and to my knowledge made it back to Arizona.  Fear not, though, our long-running streak of actually having content on the blog will extend at least one entry further, as next up Ana will comment on an odd and not-particularly-delicious seasonal offering from the Japanese supermarkets.