Okonomi Sauce vs. Takoyaki Sauce vs. Yakisoba Sauce
As you may already know, Otafuku Sauce (オタフクソース) and Bull-Dog Sauce (ブルドックソース) are Japanese companies well known for their brown sauces.
These two makers produce and sell sauces commonly used in Japan, which include Tonkatsu sauce, Chuno sauce, Okonomiyaki or Okonomi sauce, Takoyaki sauce, and Yakisoba sauce.
3 Popular Types of Otafuku Sauce
While Bull-Dog Sauce is well recognized for Tonkatsu sauce, Worcester sauce, and Chuno sauce, when Japanese people hear Otafuku Sauce, many will probably picture Okonomi or Takoyaki or Yakisoba sauce.
As I wrote about how Bull-Dog Sauce’s Tonkatsu sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Chuno sauce differ in this article, I will compare Otafuku Sauce’s Okonomi sauce, Takoyaki sauce, and Yakisoba sauce here.
Okonomi Sauce (お好みソース)
First, as its name indicates, we Japanese generally call brown sauce for Okonomiyaki pancake Okonomiyaki sauce (お好み焼きソース) or Okonomi sauce (お好みソース).
Made using plenty of vegetables and fruits and blended with about 20 varieties of spices, the Otafuku Okonomi sauce has a thick consistency characterized by its mellow sweetness from dates.
Even though this Japanese brown sauce uses various spices, it is fruity with almost no spiciness, going perfectly on Okonomiyaki.
Ingredients/Nutrition Facts
|
Vegetables & fruit (Tomato, Dates, Onion, and so on), Sugars (High fructose corn syrup, Sugar), Brewed vinegar, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, Salt, Alcohol, Soy sauce, Spice, Oyster extract, Meat extract, Yeast extract, Kombu seaweed, Protein hydrolyzate, Shiitake mushroom, Thickeners (Modified starch, Polysaccharide thickener), Seasoning (including Amino acid), Caramel pigment (Partially including Wheat, Soybean, Chicken, Pork, Peach, and Apple) |
Nutritional Values
| Calories | 127 kcal |
| Protein | 1.9 g |
| Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30.2 g |
| Salt Equivalents | 4.8 g |
Takoyaki Sauce (たこ焼ソース)
Next, as you can easily guess from its name, Takoyaki sauce (たこ焼ソース) is the Japanese brown sauce primarily meant for the Takoyaki octopus balls famous as a specialty snack of Osaka.
The Otafuku Takoyaki sauce uses soy sauce and plenty of bonito extract and is light-tasting with a somewhat thick consistency.
With a moderate sweetness, this brown sauce is a little bit spicy, featuring its flavorful umami taste from the dashi stock contained in it.
Ingredients/Nutrition Facts
|
Sugars (High fructose corn syrup, Sugar), Vegetables & Fruit (Tomato, Onion, Apple, and on), Brewed vinegar, Soy sauce, Salt, Spice, Bonito dashi stock, Katsuobushi bonito extract, Oyster extract, Kombu seaweed, Yeast extract, Thickeners (Modified starch, Tamarind), Seasoning (including Amino acid) (Partially including Wheat, Soybean, Pork, Peach, Apple, and Gelatin) |
Nutritional Values
| Calories | 125 kcal |
| Protein | 1.3 g |
| Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 29.9 g |
| Salt Equivalents | 4.3 g |
Yakisoba Sauce (焼そばソース)
Lastly, Yakisoba sauce (焼そばソース) is also a Japanese Worcester sauce, primarily meant for Yakisoba noodles.
Takoyaki sauce and Okonomiyaki sauce are similar in taste, sometimes used interchangeably, but we usually don’t substitute Yakisoba sauce for those two brown sauces.
The Otafuku Yakisoba sauce contains onion and garlic blended with umami ingredients from bonito.
This brown sauce is smooth with moderate spiciness and makes it easy to make authentic Yakisoba noodles at home.
Ingredients/Nutrition Facts
|
Sugars (High fructose corn syrup, Sugar), Brewed vinegar, Vegetables & Fruit (Tomato, Onion, Apple, and so on), Salt, Soy sauce, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, Spice, Oyster extract, Meat extract, Scallop extract, Bonito flavor seasoning, Roasted soy sauce seasoning, Kombu seaweed, Fish extract, Yeast extract, Caramel pigment, Thickeners (Modified starch, Tamarind), Seasoning (including Amino acid) (Partially including Wheat, Soybean, Chicken, Pork, Peach, and Apple) |
Nutritional Values
| Calories | 133 kcal |
| Protein | 1.7 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31.4 g |
| Salt Equivalents | 6.6 g |
