Her friend met me at the airport when I landed in Japan.
She guided me to a Japanese pizza place.
But it was an odd dish because it was traditional Okonomiyaki.
Okonomiyaki
1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. baking powder
2-3 inch (5-8 cm) Nagaimo/Yamaimo
¾ cup (180 ml) dashi, or ¾ cup water with 1 tsp. dashi powder
1 large cabbage head (8-9 cups, 1.6 lb., 740 g)
½ lb. (227 g) sliced pork belly
4 large eggs
½ cup (8 Tbsp.) tempura scraps (Tenkasu/Agedama)
¼ cup (4 Tbsp.) pickled red ginger (Kizami Beni Shoga)
Vegetable oil
You may ask what is Nagaimo?
Nagaimo (長芋) is a type of mountain yams.
It’s long and has light color skin and hairy roots.
It can be eaten raw unlike other types of yams.
You also may ask.
What is Dashi?
Dashi is a Japanese stock or broth, and it is a fundamental ingredient in many Japanese dishes.
Dashi is made from kombu (dried kelp), bonito flakes
(dried and smoked skipjack tuna that is shaved into thin flakes),
anchovies/sardine (iriko or niboshi), or a combination of all or two of them.
So Okonomiyaki is basically Flour, Spices, Yams, Fish, vegetables, Meat and sauce.
However the bulk of the items are cooked inside the pizza.
It was kind of like a huge round hot pocket.
