Otafuku: Okonomi Sauce vs Takoyaki Sauce vs Yakisoba Sauce

When it comes to Japanese sauce, in Japan, the 2 Japanese companies, “Otafuku Sauce (オタフクソース)” and “Bull-Dog Sauce (ブルドックソース)” are especially famous for their brown sauces.

These manufacturers are producing and selling brown sauces commonly used in Japan which include Tonkatsu sauce, Chuno sauce, Okonomiyaki sauce or Okonomi sauce, Takoyaki sauce, and Yakisoba sauce.

While Bull-Dog Sauce is especially well recognized for their Tonkatsu sauce, Worcester sauce, and Chuno sauce, when Japanese people hear Otafuku Sauce, I think many will first bring to mind their Okonomiyaki sauce, Takoyaki sauce, and Yakisoba sauce.

3 Popular Types of Otafuku Sauce

As I wrote about how Bull-Dog Sauce’s Tonkatsu sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Chuno sauce differ from one another in this article, here I will compare Otafuku Sauce’s Okonomi sauce, Takoyaki sauce, and Yakisoba sauce, and talk about the differences between them.

Okonomi Sauce (Okonomiyaki Sauce)

First off, as its name indicates, we Japanese generally call brown sauce for Okonomiyaki pancake “Okonomiyaki sauce (お好み焼きソース)” or simply “Okonomi sauce (お好みソース)”.

The Otafuku Okonomi sauce is made using plenty of vegetables and fruits and blended with about 20 varieties of spices. With a thick consistency, this brown sauce is characterized by its mellow sweetness from dates. Although the Okonomiyaki sauce contains various spices, it has almost no spicy taste.

Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

Specifically, according to the ingredient list, the Otafuku Okonomi sauce mainly consists of vegetables, fruits (including tomato, dates, and onion), high fructose corn syrup, sugar, brewed vinegar, amino acid liquid, salt, alcohol, soy sauce, spices, oyster extract, meat extract, yeast extract, kombu seaweed, protein hydrolyzate, shiitake mushroom, processed starch, amino acids, and caramel pigment.

And the nutrition facts label says this Japanese brown sauce has 127 kcal per 100 grams and contains 4.8 g salt equivalents.

Takoyaki Sauce 

Next, as you can easily guess from its name, “Takoyaki sauce (たこ焼ソース)” is the Japanese brown sauce particularly meant for Takoyaki octopus balls that are known as a specialty snack of Osaka.

Made with soy sauce and plenty of bonito extract, the Otafuku Takoyaki sauce is lighter in taste, thinner in consistency than the Okonomiyaki sauce above. With a moderate sweetness, this brown sauce is a little bit spicy, features its flavorful umami taste from the dashi stock contained in it. 

Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

Based on the ingredient list, the Otafuku Takoyaki sauce mainly consists of high fructose corn syrup, sugar, vegetables, fruits (including tomato, onion, and apple), brewed vinegar, soy sauce, salt, bonito extract, spices, oyster extract, kombu seaweed, yeast extract, processed starch, and amino acids.

And the nutrition facts label says that the calories of this brown sauce are 125 kcal per 100 grams and it contains 4.3 g salt equivalents.

Yakisoba Sauce 

Lastly, Yakisoba sauce is a type of Japanese Worcester sauce. In general, Takoyaki sauce and Okonomiyaki sauce are similar in taste and can be used interchangeably, but Yakisoba sauce isn’t usually used for Okonomiyaki or Takoyaki. It is a seasoning sauce particularly meant for Yakisoba noodles.

Made with onion and garlic, the Otafuku Yakisoba sauce is blended with umami ingredients from bonito or Katsuo, making it easy for you to make authentic Yakisoba noodles at home. It is a smooth brown sauce with moderate spiciness.

Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

According to the ingredient list, the Otafuku Yakisoba sauce mainly consists of high fructose corn syrup, sugar, brewed vinegar, vegetables, fruits (including tomato, onion, and apple), salt, soy sauce, amino acid liquid, spices, oyster extract, meat extract, scallop extract, bonito flavoring, roasted soy sauce seasoning, kombu seaweed, fish extract, yeast extract, caramel pigment, processed starch, and amino acids.

And the nutrition facts label says that this Japanese brown sauce has 133 kcal per 100 grams and contains 6.6 g salt equivalents.