okonomiyaki

I used to be Features editor for my campus newspaper, and of all the stories I covered, the multicultural events were the ones I pursued with the most passion. Last March, I nearly snapped my neck jumping at the chance to cover Foreign Language Week, a few days of on-campus cultural awareness executed primarily through food. The Japanese cooking demo excited me the most, where a smiling faculty member, Hiromi Ishikawa, prepared okonomiyaki for a room packed full of eager student mouths.

Many of the students (overwhelmingly foreign language majors) had eaten okonomiyaki before, some during their stay in the island nation while studying abroad. I watched with childlike fascination as the woman readied her work station with ingredients bearing foreign characters and cartoon mascots.

Hiroma oiled a large flat-top electric griddle, and prepared her pancake batter as it heated to cooking temp. She added fish powder to the batter before pouring a generous amount onto the griddle, topping with a heaping pile of shredded cabbage and bean sprouts.

Once the pancake browned for a few minutes, she used two spatulas to delicately yet deliberately flip the steaming stack over, careful not to disrupt any cabbage or tear the pancake. The cake traps the steam beneath it, effectively cooking the cabbage and sprouts it sits upon.

As the veg steamed, Hiroma added sliced pork and soba noodles to the griddle to cook alongside the pancake stack. She liberally applied okonomo sauce -- a dark and sticky sauce reminiscent of hoison or teriyaki -- to the noodles and pancake.

Once the pork was thoroughly cooked, she mixed it with the noodles, then scooped up the vegetable pancake and carefully placed it on top of the mix.

After a firm press, Hiroma slices the dish into eighths and distributes a slice to the hungry students, who had formed a sizable, salivating queue in front of her table, watching each step as I did.

Once the last piece was served, she wasted no time wiping her griddle clean and applying more oil as before in preparation of another batch to satisfy the culinary curiosity of the student body.

The condiments adjacent to the skillet were liberally applied to each individual slice by students, who covered their samples with Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise, seaweed sprinkles and fish flakes before consuming. The fish flake made for an interesting condiment, as it wriggled on top of the hot food as I ate. The flavors are unique yet familiar, not at all offputting, with that distinctive warm umami taste to it.

I was so impressed with the dish, I recreated it at home the weekend after my article was printed, taking Fish to Global Foods for the first time to acquire niche ingredients to prepare the Japanese pancake/pizza in my own kitchen. The family devoured it.

I never made it again, though I should, as it's so simple and straightforward, and tastes unforgettably delicious. Makes for a quick foreign weeknight dinner, or an impressive presentation on an at-home dinner date. Just look at that tasty pile of awesome. Tell me you don't wanna wrap your mouth around a piece of that. Lie to me, I want you to, though I'd favor your attempt over your dishonesty, if we're being totally open with each other.