Talk:Okonomiyaki/Archive 1

Archive 1

History and Origin

I have a theory that Okonomiyaki has a similar origin to English bubble and squeak. I.E. that it was originally made from left overs. Anyone have any idea about this ?

Osaka or Hiroshima

"where this dish is said to have originated"

I am in Osaka now and I was just in Hiroshima a few days ago and one thing I have noticed is that they both claim to have invented Okonomiyaki. However this article seems to be biased toward Osaka inventing it. I can imagine this would upset people from Hiroshima. -- abfackeln (talk) 00:21, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Types

The two regions famous for okonomiyaki are Osaka (Kansai) and Hiroshima. Many associate okonomiyaki with Osaka and/or Hiroshima and I think this should be flowing back into the page. E.g. in Tokyo okonomiyaki is prepared the Kansai or Hiroshima way (unless Monjayaki is considered a type of okonomiyaki).

synthetik 16:39 Feb 8, 2003 (UTC)

I agree, but the original discussion of this on the target article had no actual information in it--merely the names of two types. More like talk page stuff (pleas for confirmation of beliefs, for example), so I thought maybe it should be removed until someone knows more. Can you put that info back in a more authoritative way? That'd be great.

If not, perhaps we need more research about regional differences.

Arthur 20:56 Feb 8, 2003 (UTC)

I think you did the right thing by removing it for the time being. I'm still researching the history of Okonomiyaki, my Japanese reading skills are not that great and I need some time :), but it is definitly on my todo list synthetik

Can someone write something about the customs involved. Like how to eat okonomiyaki. I mean they dont have dinner knives. I always wonder how to eat it properly.

Not a few of Osakans(residents in Osaka) use a spatula. We cut okonomiyaki by the spatura ,and carry a piece of okonomiyaki on it to our mouth. (I'm sorry if English I wrote is strange.)Joh Shoh 06:16, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)

In Osaka, we often make okonomiyaki at home. It doesn't need much fire power.Joh Shoh 18:39, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I agree from experience and removed the sentence and the instructions too (should go to Wikipedia cookbook). Gejigeji 20:09, 21 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Cleaned up a few things, added a few more details, and changed the "popsicle" to "corndog," since many people eat popsicles by licking them, not by chomping on them.

Where to eat Okonomiyaki (outside of Japan)

Hello! I loved Okonomiyaki when I visited Japan. Sadly I am no longer in Japan and it can be hard to find Okonomiyaki where they make it at the table. I looked all over Bangkok until I found one place (http://bkkmenu.com/recommend/okonomi.html) and maybe there's another but it's not easy to find. Now I am in Malaysia and I am so lucky I stumbled across a place in Kulala Lumpur in the Low Yat Mall (http://www.sixthseal.com/000658.html). Would it be worth starting a section on where one can find it? Ewlyahoocom 13:02, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

The ingredients are relatively simple and universal save for the sauce and maybe the bonito, so in theory any major city with a international/Japanese market would have everything you could need to make your own. Would there be a value to a list of cities where Okonomiyaki was sold? I'm tempted to say no, but maybe it's rarer than I think? --Do Not Talk About Feitclub (contributions) 07:24, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

There is a Korean dish similar to this called puchingae.209.91.61.223 03:49, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

As nice as it may be to eat Okonomiyaki in a variety of places outside of Japan, I don't see the relevance inside the actual article. Currently, it mentions a location in London; I don't see how this is important unless you have some list of EVERYWHERE outside Japan you find okonomuyaki (like suggested above)... but that really doesn't sound very feasible. I'd like to advocate that the London reference be removed unless there's a really good encyclopedic reason for it. Thanks for your time --Hydenobuyuki (talk) 15:27, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

"Japanese Pizza" - bold or unbold?

There seems to be a bit of conflict over whether or not "Japanese Pizza" should be written in bold letters or not. I would say no because I've never heard the term used to sell it, it seems only to exist colloquially among those unfamiliar with it, since Okonomiyaki seems a lot more like a pancake than pizza. Should one "nickname" be bold or all of them? None of them? --Do Not Talk About Feitclub (contributions) 07:26, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

"Japanese Pizza" is definitely a misnomer in my opinion. It has far more differences with pizza than similarities. Particularly, it is made from an egg batter, rather than dough, and cooked on a teppan (hotplate), putting it squarely in the pancake category. Not only that, it has cabbage mixed in with the batter. It appears the only similarities are that it is round, savory, and may include your choice of ingredients. If we called everything that fits those criteria "pizza", we would have some mighty strange pizzas. --Dforest 12:32, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree. "Japanese Pizza" makes okonomiyaki seem like it's always baked, when in reality, it's actually usually fried in a pan. Thus, I prefer the term "Japanese pancake" to describe it, because the batter for both can be made anyway anyone wants it, and it's cooked in a pan. --Shaojian 21:47, 23 Oct 2005 (UTC)

My wife and I just spent a week living with a host family in Japan (Saitama City, near Tokyo). Our host referred to this dish as "Japanese Pizza" despite the fact that its only similarity to pizza was the shape. The batter was made with potato flour, eggs, and chopped bacon, and it was topped with a sweet "barbecue sauce" as well as dried tuna and dried seaweed. After cooking, it was sliced like a pizza and served up. Most of the family speared their slices with their chopsticks. The daughter coverved hers with a huge amount of mayo. --fiat lux 07:29, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

As a voice actress for ADV Films, the company which licensed and recorded the anime series Azumanga Daioh, I wondered how we would handle the names of certain foods. For the most part they were unchanged, and referred to with the Japanese names, but our Japanese (in nationality) translator translated "okinomiyaki" to "Japanese pizza", as well. I'd say that's two native-chosen strikes FOR the name, inaccurate or not. --Chacharu 22:02, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, ADV isn't known for their amazingly accurate translations. They tend to go more for crude and crass translations, or totally off-the-wall, out-of-the-blue "translations" that have nothing to do with what the original script said. And the main reason some Japanese use "Japanese pizza" as a "translation" for okonomi is because they likely got it originally some American who didn't want to bother with the real name. ···日本穣^{? · Talk to Nihonjoe} 09:15, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

ADV does have some poor translations, and I agree that okonomiyaki is more like a pancake (or maybe an omelette?) than a pizza, but everyone in Japan called it Japanese pizza when describing it to foreigners. Whether or not the term accurately describes the food, it seemed to be the default explanation from people all over Japan. Alhead (talk) 16:45, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

I have had okonomikayi in Osaka and in Hiroshima and have never heard anyone call it japanese pizza except in american media (such as this). This seems like a term that Japanese people would use only when trying to explain it to a bakagaijin (ignorant foreigner). Additionally, I have had Japanese pizza which is nothing like okonomiyaki. It's just pizza Japanese-style, as one might expect. -- abfackeln (talk) 00:43, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

--Tristan Vialenc (talk) 12:25, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

I will not make this my first edit, I am just new around but...

Can we all agree that Okonomiyaki are not pizzas as they are not baked, contain no bread base and are all around more related to pancakes

It is however referred thoroughly (around the internet at least) as Japanese pizza, we maybe should say it is a misnomer.

we could reword it this way:

and may be referred to as a "Japanese pizza" (improperly) or "Osaka soul food".[1]

By the way the source it refers too is down

Okonomiyaki in Japanese popular culture

The fact that the only instances in the Japanese popular culture section are from Anime (and anime generally available in the US at that) is really really sad. I always knew that wikipedia was nothing more than a bunch of fanboys, fatbeards and autistics, but jesus christ.

I say if you people can't come up with a SINGLE instance of okonomiyaki in japanese culture outside of anime, then the section should be deleted. Pathetic.

I've been reading up on Japanese dishes and sad to say almost every dish has some pointless Japanese cartoon reference. I mean, really... it's like having someone annoyingly walk up to one of the Japanese exchange students asking them what the word 'yugioh' really means and trying to discuss cartoons they've never even seen (or possibly their 5 year old little brother has). 16:25, 22 February 2008 (UTC) m0u5y —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.228.52.221 (talk)

Speaking as one who's seen a very large percentage of the Japanese cultural items available outside Japan, okonomi is not one that is generally seen. It's generally not available in any Japanese restaurants. I have yet to find a single one that even offers it in the United States (unfortunately), and I've been to a fair number in several different states. In the few Japanese non-anime films that make it over here, I've never seen it in any of them. It's only found in a few anime series that I've seen, and some of those (such as AzuDai, mentioned above) are among those released here, so I'm not surprised that the vast majority of people who haven't been to Japan who know about okonomi have learned about it through anime. In fact, I would venture to guess that (at least for those younger than 30) anime has been a significant contributor (though not always an accurate contributor) to their knowledge of Japan, its food, culture, and language due to its increased popularity these last 15 years or so.

Yes, there are some stupid fanboys (and fangirls) out there, but please remember to remain civil (not that you'll likely see this again as you are an anonymous IP). ···日本穣^{? · Talk to Nihonjoe} 09:15, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

I have disregarded whatever the anon IP has stated above, due to their offensive tone and lack of civility. If the anon IP wishes to make an account, and behave in a manner suitable for wikipedia, then I may be willing to give a damn. Sennen goroshi (talk) 17:27, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

How can I cook it?

How can I cook Okonomiyaki with foreign ingredients??? I think it would be interesting, because I don't think I can find the Okonomiyaki Souce in Vienna. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Karljoos (talk • contribs) 01:29, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

pan-fried batter cake?

Surely the phrase "pan-fried batter cake" would be more understandable to most Western readers as simply "pancake." --gilgongo (talk) 11:25, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

In fact, the article for pancake would be a good link to add in the overview, since its definition as a "flat cake prepared from a batter and cooked on a hot griddle" would pretty much exactly describe okonomiyaki. The phase "pan-fried batter cake" is ridiculously cumbersome and requires a prior knowledge of what "batter," is so it's not good in an overview anyway. I'll leave this here for discussion, but if we get none in the next couple of weeks, I'll amend the article accordingly. --gilgongo (talk) 00:04, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

In fact, "batter" and "sponge" (or yeast) mean two very different things to real bakers, and make a very different kind of cake. I would guess the original writer was working from a Japanese-English dictionary, and was unfamiliar with English's tolerance of ambiguity. Pancake makes sense here (and "fried" does not, actually). FiveRings (talk) 03:54, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

OK changing to "pancake" for above mentioned reasons of clarity and style. --gilgongo (talk) 15:09, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Hiroshima-style okonomi is hardly a pancake. JIMp _talk·cont 04:44, 13 April 2011 (UTC)