Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki
In the city of Hiroshima, there are over 2000 okonomiyaki restaurants, and the prefecture has more of those restaurants per capita than any other place in Japan. Issen yōshoku, a thin pancake topped with green onions and bonito flakes or shrimp, became popular in Hiroshima prior to World War II. After the atomic bombing of the city in August 1945, issen yōshoku became a cheap way for the surviving residents to have food to eat. Because the original ingredients were not always easy to obtain, many of the street vendors and shops began making it "cooked how you like it", using whatever ingredients were available.
A chef preparing okonomiyaki in a restaurant in Hiroshima
The ingredients are layered rather than mixed. The layers are typically batter, cabbage, pork, and yakisoba. Optional items such as squid, octopus, dried bonito flakes, and other seafood, as well as nori flakes or powder, mung bean sprouts, egg, chicken, cheese, and other ingredients, depending on the preferences of the cook and the customer. Noodles (yakisoba, udon) are also used as a topping with fried egg and a generous amount of okonomiyaki sauce.
The amount of cabbage used is usually three to four times the amount used in the Osaka style. It starts out piled very high and is pushed down as the cabbage cooks. The order of the layers may vary slightly depending on the chef's style and preference, and ingredients vary depending on the preference of the customer. This style is also called Hiroshima-yaki or Hiroshima-okonomi.
In and around the Hiroshima area, there are a number of variations on the style. Fuchuyaki is made with ground meat instead of pork belly in Fuchū, Hiroshima. Oysters (kaki) are mixed in okonomiyaki to make kaki-oko in Hinase, Okayama. On the island of Innoshima, a variety called Innoshima okonomiyaki (or in'oko for short) includes udon, bonito flakes, Worcestershire sauce, and vegetables fried with uncooked batter. Together with "Onomichiyaki", in'oko is considered a B-class gourmet food along the Shimanami Kaidō. There is a restaurant in Hiroshima where customers can order jalapeños, tortilla chips, chorizo, and other Latin American items either in—or as a side dish to—okonomiyaki.
Otafuku, one of the most popular brands of okonomiyaki sauce, is based in Hiroshima and has an okonomiyaki museum and a cooking studio there. Okonomi-mura, in Naka-ku in Hiroshima, was the top food theme park destination for families in Japan according to an April 2004 poll.