Okonomiyaki: Making Japanese Street Food

When Wifey first made me okonomiyaki I had no idea what to think. I remember an exchange student my family hosted when I was in high school attempted to make this for us, and it wasn't very good at all. Maybe it's because she didn't get the right ingredients, or maybe she wasn't a good cook, but it didn't translate for us all that well. I mean, cabbage pancakes? Really?

So I wasn't sure what to expect when Wifey made it the first time, so many years ago (you know, cause I'm super old and all). However, hers were very different from what our exchange student made. For one thing they had pork, which is never bad. They also had the necessary sauce - okonomiyaki sauce if you are curious, and I have no idea what's in it, similar to tonkatsu sauce with elements of soy sauce and sweet, but in a very finite ratio. And it was outstanding! Mostly because Wifey is an awesome cook, but also because it was more styled like actual Japanese street food. Our poor exchange student was limited to the typical American pantry and grocery store when she made it, so doubtlessly she had to make some changes and it didn't turn out right. Not her fault.

Probably over half of my three readers are now wondering just what the hell I'm talking about. Cabbage pancakes? Sort of - okonomiyaki is a mixture of shredded cabbage, shredded meat, a specific flour, egg, and water. Very simple, and very yummy - and you can add whatever you want to it - more on that later.

We went to Japan a few years back, visiting some family and seeing some sights, and one of the things we really wanted to do was get some Japanese street food, namely things like okonomiyaki and ramen. Want to know the trouble with that? Well, in Japan these items are not exactly considered the nation's shining beacons of culinary excellence, so your host is apt to steer you in another direction. Which isn't bad, because everything was outstanding, but it's still not what we wanted. And when you are at the mercy of others driving because your Japanese is passable at best and you have no idea where to go anyway, you go where the car goes. Again, it was awesome, but we wanted some of the basic stuff in addition to the crab overload meal (and yes, crab overload was one of the greatest meals ever).

We ended up getting ramen at a place outside of a shrine in Nara if I remember right. It was good to us Americans - better than anything here - but it was also outside a tourist spot, so was it really good? I'm not sure.

Okonomiyaki, now, we got the good stuff. Every city has their own take on it, but the style we had was on a trip to Hiroshima. Wifey's uncle found a third floor area in a mall (I think, maybe it was an office building?) that was literally nothing but places doing okonomiyaki. There were well over 20 vendors, all with big grills ready to cook up all sorts of different specialty okonomiyakis as your heart desired.

I have no idea why I have no pictures - I guess that means we have to go back (oh darn).

We went to a specific place - not sure how her uncle picked that particular  one out - but then proceeded to have one of our best meals in Japan. It was also the most entertaining, because making okonomiyaki in that setting is partly about the show and presentation as well - and that part's free.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki also includes egg and yakisoba noodles, which we thought was fantastic, so now that's how we make it at home. It's also really easy to make, though it will require a trip to your local Asian food market (Uwajimaya or something similar) - if you've never been that's an afternoon of free entertainment and exploration for you as well.

Want to learn how to make it? Here you go.

What you will need:

Head of cabbage
Thin sliced pork
Yakisoba noodles
Water
Eggs
Okonomi sauce
Okonomi mix
Mayo
Oil

Notice none of these have amounts - that's because it depends on how much you want to make. The instructions on your mix (baking aisle, I think, in Uwajimaya - the sauce is by the tonkatsu/yakisoba sauces) will probably be in Japanese, but the basic mixture has these ratios:

100 grams of mix (and mix is made from a starch, Japanese potato or yam I believe, along with other necessary ingredients I have no idea what they are)
100 milliliters of water
1 egg
250 grams of shredded cabbage (food processor rocks here)
1/4 pound of thinly sliced pork (this is my rough estimate, adjust up or down as you see fit on this one), cooked

And that's it. Mix up the flour and water, mix in the cabbage and meat, and then mix in the beaten egg. This will make about five five-inch pancakes (or so, that's a rough estimate). We usually double it, because leftovers kick ass.

It should look something like this (camera work is not my forte - I'm a better cook than photographer, but I'm working on it):

 

The Mix

Then heat up your cooking surface. I use an electric skillet for the cooking area, but you could use a griddle or frying pan. Having sides is nice for me since I cook the pork in here first, and then follow the cakes with noodles and eggs. Cook them for about three minutes a side on 300 degrees, or until they have a light brownness to them.

In the Pan

After the Flip

Next comes the noodles. Again, the amount you cook really depends on how much you want to eat and/or save. I toss roughly half of a one-pound package into the skillet with a little sesame oil, which adds a nice flavor. Just fry them up until they are a little crisp, but not burned.

Pile of Noodles

Then crack in the eggs (after taking out the noodles, unless you want scrambled). There should be leftover oil from the noodles, so no need to add any more. Salt and pepper would be a personal preference, I don't use it. As far as done-ness, I like my eggs to be soft enough to leak yolk all over my noodles when my fork cuts in; it's basically the same as any other fried egg you cook.

Hey, It's A Fried Egg

Next you just layer it out onto a plate. First the noodles:

Then the egg:

And finally the actualy okonomiyaki, topped with a light layer of mayo (I know, it sounds weird, but it's yummy), and then a nice criss-crossing of the okonomi sauce. At this point I'm usually done, but you can add pretty much whatever topping sounds good. Dried shrimp, dried seaweed, pickled ginger - whatever your palette desires.

And voila, the final dish!

Top View

Money Shot

Tell me that doesn't make you hungry?! Every time I make it not only do I eat too much, but I'm instantly transplanted back to that simple yet amazing meal in Hiroshima.

Thank me later; now go run to Uwajimaya and make it for yourself, then come back and tell me how easy it was and how damn yummy it was. Impress your friends - chances are most of them will have no idea what you made them, but they will like it. And want the recipe. Email them this link.

Sushi CAN Be A Meal

I haven't always liked Japanese food. In fact, there was a time when I couldn't stand the thought of it. You know, all that crazy fishy stuff, raw and slimy, who wants to eat that? This is what I thought as I entered high school, before I underwent a gradual change in my tastes as people are wont to do as they mature. Well, that, and when you spend eight years studying the language and then marry into a Japanese family, you change. You learn about all the different kinds of things that make up another culture's meal, you try things you might not try otherwise, and you find out that when you open up your palette to this kind of discovery you actually like stuff.

Well, maybe not for everyone, but that's how it worked for me. A similar thing happened during the two months I lived in Italy and the week-long vacation we took to Huatulco in southern Mexico - you find out a culture's cuisine isn't defined by the likes of places named Panda Express, Olive Garden, and Taco Bell.

I suppose that bit of rambling is to say I know Japanese food and have a decent bit of experience in it (and ate a decent amount of different things during a trip to Japan as well). We're lucky enough here in Portland to have some very good Japanese restaurants like Syun in Hillsboro, Biwa in SE Portland, Yuzu in Beaverton, and a bunch of smaller mom and pop type places, almost all of which serve solid food.

Still, it seems many Americans think only of sushi when it comes to Japanese food and people talk about going out for sushi like they do getting a burger, which is funny to me since never once in all my years with the in-laws or in Japan has sushi ever been considered a meal. That very well could be just my experience - I'm open to that - but what I'm getting at is I just have never really considered plates of just sushi a meal. That's more like a snack. Or, at least, that's how I've always thought of it. It's kind of silly, really, to think that way, but I did.

However, as I sample more and more different kinds of sushi I'm starting to change my mind. Part of this also has to do with I seem to be eating less quantity of food as well, partly for my waistline and partly because that's just what needs to happen as you get older and spend 75% of your waking hours in front of a computer.

So the other day, we went out for sushi for lunch. Well, we didn't necessarily expressly decide to get just sushi, but we went to a place in Lake Oswego called Kurata, and we've been reading on various messageboards for awhile how fantastic their sushi was. Just so you know in advance, they are only open for lunch on Thursday and Friday.

I expected Kurata to be busy on a Friday for lunch, but it sure was not. We showed up a little before noon and there were only two other customers. It's a small place so it only holds about 12-15 people total at any one time, but it didn't get more than half full the entire time we were there.

The menu has plenty of options, but after pouring over it we decided sushi sounded really good, and that's what they are known for, so why not?

We decided on a couple different things. We ordered a combination plate of tempura (shrimp, potato, onion, zucchini, and Japanese squash) that came with a California roll, salad, and miso soup, and then we also ordered an Alaskan roll with salmon and crab, a Philadelphia roll with cream cheese and smoked salmon, and a hamachi with a simple piece of tuna.

So yes, mostly sushi. And honestly, this was a boatload of food. The waitress kind of gave me an eye when I ordered the third sushi dish, like was I really going to eat all of that? Of course not - that's why there is a cooler in the car (we carry it everywhere, for leftovers). At the time I didn't realize how much I was ordering, but oh well.

The tempura was some of the lightest I've ever tasted, but it was still very flavorful with a good crunch. All of the vegetables were perfectly cooked, which I haven't always been able to say about other places we have been. The California roll was very well done and all of the ingredients were obviously very fresh - which, for me, is a key with sushi. Especially since I can get the same thing homemade on occasion.

Rice is also a key with sushi, and this was some of the best around town I've had.

The Alaskan and Philly rolls were eight, half-dollar-size pieces each. The salmon and crab (real crab, not that fake crap you get at a lot of places) in the Alaskan roll were a good combination, but I will say the crab was the dominant flavor (not that it's a bad thing at all). The Philly roll consisted of smoked salmon, cucumber, and, of course, cream cheese. Some places go crazy with the cream cheese, which is just weird to me. This one was delightlyfully restrained, allowing the freshness of the cucumber and the smokiness of the salmon to really shine in parallel instead of being snuffed by the Philly.

The tuna on the hamachi roll was excellent. The meat was tender, melt-in-your-mouth good. This dish had two rolls on it, with generous helpings of fish. My only complaint with this was a the wasabi - placed between the fish and the rice - was a bit too much for my tastebuds. Of course, I will also admit to not liking wasabi much at all, so it doesn't take a lot to be too much for me.

We loved our lunch, and we brought home plenty to nibble on the next day. Absolutely we will be going back for dinner sometime...and apparently I can make a meal out of just sushi - a very, very good meal.

Laurelhurst is Decent

Sometimes when you pick a new restaurant to try you take a risk. Maybe you want to check it out for the hype, a special dish, or because all the critics say it's good. Maybe they don't and you want to check it out anyway. Whatever the reason for choosing a place you always run the risk of being disappointed; that's part of the price you pay in the quest for perfection.

Last week Wifey and I decided to go to Laurelhurst Market on East Burnside for dinner. We had gone last summer and bought sandwiches out of the attached deli (open during the day), but wanted to check out the restaurant (only open for dinner). It's a meat-centric place - always a plus for us - and they have high quality meats, so the prices weren't exactly walking around money. We knew that going in. We also chose it despite continually being disappointed with steakhouses (I'm looking at you Ringside Steakhouse).

The menu looks very good with plenty of different kinds of meats to choose from. I will point out, though, that the main course dishes really are just the protein - if you want more you need to order a side or a salad. I'm not really sure I understand the steakhouse predilection for this not having side dishes included in the meal, but there you go - you've been warned.

Wifey ordered the grilled ribeye with blue cheese butter and fried Walla Walla onions, medium. Here's another thing about steakhouses - they never give you the doneness you request. Medium, to them, is apparently very red in the middle. I know cooks seem to like their meat less cooked than perhaps I do, but one would think if you ask for medium you should get some pink without any red. It's like the cook is saying no, that's not what you want. I'll do whatever I please. I get that on some level, but at the same time if you don't like raw beef you don't like raw beef.

Despite that, the steak was a nice piece of meat and it was very good. The onions had a very nice crust on them that didn't get soggy, even on re-heating in the microwave the next day. Overall this was a good dish - just not sure it was $32 good. She ordered smashed olive oil new potatoes to go with it that was also pretty decent.

I opted for the double cut pork chop, which is not the one listed on the menu at the link above. It's the same cut of meat, but Carlton Farms instead of Tails and Trotters and had a sweet smokiness to it. Again, I ordered it medium and this was probably done closer to my request than Wifey's steak, but it was pink in the middle and almost dry on the outside. (Oddly enough, the next day it actually seemed moister when I ate leftovers - not quite sure how that happens.) I picked a side of Mom's Baked Beans - which promise to be what Mom would have served me if she loved me - thinking I couldn't go wrong there. The flavors were good, but not all of my beans were cooked through - some were hard.

We ordered a glass of red wine with the dinner to share, something we don't normally do. At a steakhouse it seemed like the right thing to do. We chose a $10 glass of Dollar Bill from Patricia Green Cellars which was excellent. I may have mentioned before I'm not a big fan of most of the pinot noirs around here, but apparently I just need to get the expensive stuff. Highly recommend this wine - it had a fruity nose, minimal tannins, and just a solid overall flavor and feel.

When the dessert menu came we saw their version of S'mores (I think they called it Night at Lost Lake or something like that) and had to get it. It comes on a plate with two house-made graham crackers, almost gingerbread, which have rosemary in them. That was an interesting tweak I liked while Wifey wasn't that thrilled about it. That came with a nice square of toasted marshmallow and some soft Callebaut chocolate - plus a smooth shot of Maker's Mark bourbon, which I downed cheerfully. Eaten together it was very good (to me anyway). Sadly, I think this and the wine were the highlights of my Laurelhurst experience.

The food was pretty decent, but the high prices weren't justified. I'll spend the money if it really, truly is that good - this just wasn't.

Would I go back? Surprisingly, yes I would. But if we did I'd nibble around the edges of the menu, perhaps trying the bacon cheese burger, one of the salads, or the fish and chips, instead of going for a large chunk of meat main course. And many of the appetizers our fellow diners ordered - it's an open dining room - did look good. The pommes frites looked fantastic.

Would I recommend it? Probably not. And that's kind of sad because I really wanted to like this place. I'll recommend the deli part for sandwiches and hard to find cuts of beef and pork, just not necessarily for a steak dinner.

A Lovely Meal

Wifey and I decided we needed a mid-week date night a couple weeks back and decided to check out a pizza place we hadn't been before. We narrowed it down to Dove Vivi and Lovely's Fifty-Fifty. Dove Vivi is off Glisan and Lovely's is on Mississippi Avenue, and since we could pair that with a visit to The Sugar Cube for a cupcake dessert we opted for the latter. Maybe next time Vivi.

Lovely's Fifty-Fifty is the new place opened next door to what was Lovely Hula Hands, a place we wanted to go to but never did before it closed. It's run by the same people, but the focus has shifted to high quality pizza and homemade ice cream from the meals done in the old space. This space is new, long and narrow, with plenty of seating. We were there a little early - 5:30 or so - on a Wednesday and there were plenty of tables. In fact, there were still plenty of tables when we left an hour later. Admittedly that's not exactly a high traffic night, or time, for a restaurant, but it's good to know you can get a table when you want one if you play your cards right.

Fifty-Fifty has their own unique take on pizza. I've seen it described as traditional, meaning like the ones made in Napoli, but I think I must disagree. It's closer to that style than any American style, but I personally think Nostrana and Ken's Artisan Pizza are closer to what is typically Napolitano - that could just be me. That's not to say it's not good - it most assuredly is.

We decided to get two. For us this is practically a must because the first one we will always get is the classic margherita. So what next? You can see the menu at the link above - they all looked good. What we decided on isn't on the menu at the moment; it had fennel sausage, kale, and mozzarella. I wasn't sold it would be a good combination, but fennel sausage intrigued me.

Lovely's crust is very good. It's not as chewy as some, not as thick as others, but it has very good flavor and a crunch to the edges that isn't too much, meaning it's not dry and overdone. The sauce is absolutely excellent - you can taste the freshness of the tomatoes. There is also plenty of it, which we both love (and yes, I realize this is decidedly un-Italian - don't care). The mozzarella on both pizzas was very good, very fresh, and there was a nice drizzle of olive oil at some point in the layering that added another element of flavor.

The margherita was fantastic. The freshness of all the ingredients and the boldness of the flavors working in harmony really stood out. I'd eat this every day if I could. The kale and sausage was also very good. I wasn't sure about the kale, but the nuttiness from the leaves when roasted really made a nice impact on the overall flavor and the fennel sausage added a touch of savory and salty that was very pleasing. I didn't think I would like this nearly as much as the margherita, but it was fantastic. Absolutely would get again...but then again, there are others to try!

We made a point of saving room for dessert because we had heard good things about their ice cream. (Just ignore the fact we had Sugar Cube cupcakes already in the car...) Unfortunately the chocolate chip cookie dough was sold out (sad!), so we got a scoop each of the malted milk ball and the salted caramel. And wow...just wow. This might be some of the best ice cream I've had, and I like myself some ice cream.

The malted milk ball ice cream tasted, literally, like a melted Whopper. I loved these things as a kid - not so much Whoppers specifically anymore, but I like the flavor combination - and this was a flashback to then. On top of the excellent flavor profile the vanilla ice cream itself was very smooth and creamy, almost luxurious. The salted caramel was heavenly... We both agreed we'd go back just for ice cream, even if the pizza was bad - which it wasn't at all. In fact while we were there at least one couple came in just for a cone to go. Right now they are open just for dinner, but I believe they will be open on weekend afternoons in the summer for ice cream at least, if not for meals. And it's completely worth it.

My only complaint about the whole dinner is the booths are wooden benches and they are quite hard. If that's the only issue, you know there is no reason to not give it a visit. Good pizza, nice atmosphere, and fantastic ice cream - lovely indeed.

Pretty Damn Tasty

A couple weeks back a new breakfast and lunch place opened up on North Williams, just down the street from Ristretto Coffee and Pix Patisserie, called Tasty n Sons. It's the new place from the mind of John Gorham, the esteemed owner of the critically acclaimed (by this blog and the rest of the world) Toro Bravo and got his start in Portland with Viande Meats at City Market and then also at Simpatica (which longtime readers here know we love).

All that is to say Gorham is Portland restaurant royalty, he knows food, and I really like everything he's ever done. Really like it.

So when we read about his combining two of my favorite things - his cooking and vision with brunch - Wifey and I knew we'd be going to check this place out. So Saturday morning we did.

We meant to get there earlier than 12:15 to avoid a rush of any kind, but that's just about my only day of the week to sleep in, so it didn't happen. Lucky for us we found a parking spot right across Williams and we walked in just as another couple was leaving from two seats at the "bar" - the area right in front of where all the magic happens. (If you read my Toro Bravo review and have been there, it's basically the same type of area we sat there, and plenty of restaurants around town are adding this kind of seating - I like it.)

And, as it so happens, Mr. Gorham himself was there right in front of us, keeping an eye on the work and flow of his new business (still not officially open, just a "soft" open) while he did prep work, cutting up red peppers, stripping and washing chard, cutting tiny openings in dates, and all sorts of other things while giving the occasional direction and clarification to the staff the person who will presumably be in charge when he is not there.

No, we didn't actually talk to him, since he was busy working and all, but he did smile and say hello to us and the many other patrons in the area, plus any who walked by to thank him. Why were they thanking him? Well, because the food was simply wonderful.

Tasty n Sons doesn't have a menu on their website yet, but here is one sample from Portlandfood.org, about 3/4 of the way down the page. The menu we saw on Saturday was very similar.

We had to start off with the griddled bacon-wrapped dates with maple syrup, one each. We ordered it's cousin at Toro Bravo and these little nuggets are just fantastic. I don't know if the Tasty n Sons version is better, but it really is a little slice of heaven. The almond inserted in the middle has a lightly smoked flavor, adding a nice twist of smoky and salty to the sweetness of the date and the syrup. Highly recommend - $2 each.

Our next dish (I should point out here each item comes out as the kitchen finishes making it, so you will get one dish at a time instead of all at once - again, I'm a big fan of this service style) was the glazed yams with cumin maple syrup. I'll be honest here - we wouldn't have ordered this if we hadn't have already read people raving about it online. And you know what? Those people were absolutely right. The cumin adds a very contrasting flavor - without being overpowering - to the sweetness of the roasted yam and the syrup. I would absolutely order these again. I believe there were three good-sized slices of yam for $4.

This was followed by the chocolate potato doughnuts, which came with a vanilla creme anglaise sauce. Online reviews of this dish have been split, and I'm still not exactly sure where I fall on it. Wifey wasn't too excited by them. I liked the thickness of the dough, but they seemed a little hard and a tad on the crunchy side - trying to cut them with a fork seemed to make them crumble. The sauce was good, but I could have used a little more for three doughnut holes. Have seen people describe these as not chocolately enough, but that part was okay for me. May try again, if I hear they tweak it a bit. $5.

All three of those were in the Smaller Plates section, but the next two were in the Larger Plates portion of the menu. The first is Auntie Paula's French toast with rhubarb and whip cream. On the link to the menu above you will see it's $8, but that was for two slices, I think. They changed it by the time we went, so there are two options - a $5 one and a $10 one. We opted for the smaller one so we could try another dish. This station was actually right in front of us, so we could see some of the process. The slices of bread are very thick, and after being dipped in the batter they go onto a simple electric griddle that has been generously buttered. These are then left for what I thought was quite a long time - much longer than I do it at home, so maybe I need to turn down the temperature. And add butter. Mmm...butter... When they are finally finished the toast is topped with a rhubarb jam/sauce and then whip cream. Verdict? Super damn good. Super. Damn. Good. The whip cream tastes like fluffy ice cream, the sauce is amazing, and the French toast a dream. Highly, highly, highly recommend. A lot. You should order this.

Our final dish was the fried egg and cheddar biscuit. There is a choice of sausage or fried chicken on that, so we chose the chicken. Splitting this was difficult because it was quite large and a little problematic to cut, but we managed. The biscuit was good and everything was cooked very well, but it was a tad crunchy. Now, crunchy isn't a bad thing - it just means every time you whip out the knife to cut it or take a bite, it crumbles to bits. I ended up eating most of it in pieces with my fork rather than eating it as a sandwich. Wifey thought the flavors were perfect and I really like it, but would have liked a tad bit of something sweet on there just set the flavors off - maybe a dab of honey, a jam, or even maple syrup would have done the trick - but it was pretty good.

Overall, Tasty n Sons was fantastic. The service was very good, the food was excellent, and we are already planning what to get on our next trip (the burger, perhaps, or the cheesesteak, followed by the chocolate chip cookie and ice cream for dessert; and maybe some dates...and French toast...). Looks like Mr. Gorham has another hit on his hands.