When I was growing up, yakisoba was lunch menu on weekends and my family used to gather around the Japanese hot plate (indoor griddle) and cook the noodles together. It was my dad’s favorite and we didn’t mind this repetition either. When I got married, I unconsciously followed the same routine, cooking yakisoba on weekends until my husband told me “Yakisoba again?”. However, now the kids love eating yakisoba noodles so this lunch menu started to appear more frequently. Yes, yakisoba is back!
Okonomiyaki (aka Japanese pizza) is a Japanese pancake dish including a variety of ingredients and usually associated with Osaka and Hiroshima areas (West) of Japan. Okonomi means “what you like” and Yaki means “grilled.” Regardless of the region and style, the main ingredients is always cabbage. This particular recipe is from my friend who’s originally from Hiroshima.