Teppanyaki vs. Okonomiyaki: What’s the Difference?
Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き) and Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) are Japanese dishes relatively well recognized by overseas people.
In my country, many specialized restaurants offer these two dishes, and we sometimes enjoy them at home, which is why they are very familiar to us.
Teppanyaki vs. Okonomiyaki
As for the name, Teppanyaki is composed of 2 words, Teppan (鉄板), meaning iron plate, and Yaki (焼き) for “grill” in English.
Thus, it is the generic name for the dishes cooked using a Teppan or iron griddle or stands for cooking something on a metal plate.
The representative dish of Japanese Teppanyaki is steak, in the restaurant, typically cooked by chefs in front of diners.
Any dish cooked on a Teppan can be Teppanyaki, and this is the case with Okonomiyaki, as we usually cook it on a metal plate or an iron pan.
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)
In its name, Okonomi (お好み) means as you like, and Okonomi Yaki is a savory pancake made by frying wheat flour dough mixed with various ingredients you prefer.
Ingredients
The ingredients for Okonomiyaki vary depending on the region, the restaurant, and each house.
But the dish typically uses pork belly slices, seafood such as bite-sized squid and shrimp, and vegetables such as shredded cabbage, chopped green onions, and corn kernels.
Besides these, Okonomiyaki often comes with processed cheese, Mentaiko, Mochi, or Yakisoba noodles.
Cooking
Source: Youtube お好み焼きの作り方(関西風)✿日本の家庭料理【日本通TV】
Lastly, the cooking process of Okonomiyaki is roughly like this.
- First, put Okonomiyaki flour, egg, water, and fresh vegetables in a bowl and mix well. Okonomiyaki flour is available at Japanese grocery stores and mainly consists of wheat flour.
- After placing the mixture on an iron griddle or a frying pan and putting meat, seafood, or other ingredients, cook it the same way as a pancake.
- After that, transfer the cake onto a plate and dress it with mayonnaise and Okonomiyaki sauce.
- Lastly, sprinkle Katsuobushi bonito flakes and Aonori green seaweed powder, and you can enjoy the dish.
