Pecopeco! publisher Kazuko Nagao dishes out Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.
Hiroshima native Kazuko Nagao—publisher of Pecopeco!, a foodie website for Japanese New Yorkers—yearned for the savory cabbage pancakes of her youth. Sure, there’s plenty of okonomiyaki in Gotham, but it’s all Osaka-style—apparently that means everything’s simply thrown into a batter and onto the griddle. She missed her hometown’s version, in which each ingredient is layered, requiring skill and finesse. She approached Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s No. 43 and a special event was hatched.
Nagao gamely manned the frying pan, first putting down a thin layer of batter that she sprinkled with bonito flakes. That got topped with cooked yakisoba noodles, a substantial little haystack of shredded cabbage, a few pork belly slices and tempura crunchies. After it was seasoned and topped with a bit more batter, Nagao artfully flipped the assemblage. Now the hard part: waiting for the cabbage to cook down, which Nagao encouraged with her spatula.
As a pièce de résistance, the condensed puck was lowered onto a frying egg, fusing everything together. A sprinkle of seaweed flakes and a squirt of okonomiyaki sauce were the final steps before we got to eat. Jimmy was on hand to recommend some great beer accompaniments, including Spezial Rauchbier, Jolly Pumpkin and Angry Boy Brown Ale.
Hungry yet? Taste them yourself at the next okonomiyaki fry at Jimmy’s No. 43, Tuesday, November 3, from 7 to 10pm.—Michael Anstendig
