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Introduction: Beyond Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki
Ask anyone about food in Osaka and the first thing they’ll mention is, takoyaki. The second will most likely be okonomiyaki. I’m sure we all know there is more to the cuisine of Osaka, however takoyaki and okonomiyaki remain the poster children for Osaka dining.
And rightfully so. Takoyaki and okonomiyaki are undeniably true and delicious representations of Osaka food, however not as many folks are familiar with the rest of the family of these two show-ponies. You may not find some of these second-tier flour-based snacks as readily available as their more famous cousins, but if you’re in Osaka, here are some lesser known treats that are definitely worth searching out.
1. Rajioyaki
The tale is as old as time. Well, nearly 100 years old at least.
Legend has it that Tomekichi Endo migrated to Osaka from Fukushima Prefecture and operated a stall serving rajioyaki in Imazato in 1933. The dish was a precursor to takoyaki that used most of the same ingredients, but instead of octopus (tako) Endo used stewed beef tendons and konnyaku (a gelatinous food product made from the corm of the konjac plant -a variety of yam) as the feature of his battered balls.
Why Rajioyaki?
Apparently it was around this time that radios were being popularized in modern culture, so Endo piggybacked on the popularity of radio and named his creation rajioyaki (rajio being the Japanese pronunciation for radio and yaki mean grilled).
A couple of years later, Endo caught wind of a proprietor in the city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture who was making a type of omelet (tamagoyaki) using chopped octopus. This inspired Endo to switch out his beef tendons and konnyaku for octopus, thus giving birth to Osaka’s favorite dish, takoyaki.
Enjoying Rajioyaki in Osaka
So, what happened to rajioyaki? Well, it basically fell out of popularity to takoyaki, but fear not, it can still be enjoyed today.
Endo’s initial stall, Aizuya went on to great success and these days the company boasts nine stores across Osaka and one in Tokyo. In 2005, the third generation of the Endo family Masaru Endo engineered the comeback of rajioyaki and put it back on the menu after a seventy-year hiatus giving takoyaki fans a chance to taste history.
Aizuya’s rajioyaki is served sans sauce and mayonnaise, as is their takoyaki. This style is not completely unusual as many takoyaki purists will argue that sauce and mayonnaise as well as toppings such as nori (seaweed ) and katsuo-obushi (bonito flakes) mask the true flavor of the takoyaki.
Rajioyaki has a slightly more gooey and creamy texture throughout, given the soft stewed beef, the gelatinous texture of the konnyaku and lack of firm octopus “crunch”, but it’s still a tasty little window into what Osaka folks were enjoying in the early Showa era.
As mentioned above, Aizuya has a number of branches around Osaka, including the honten (flagship store) in Nishinari, southern Osaka, but one of the more accessible branches is in Namba, in the basement of the Midosuji subway and Nankai stations just near Takashimaya Department Store. Serving sizes start at 12 pieces, but they’re not very big and quite manageable for one, easily for two people.
Find the Namba branch of Aizuya here
2. Akashiyaki
Let’s not forget it was apparently a vendor in the city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture that inspired Endo to popularize takoyaki.
These tamagoyaki hybrids, known as akashiyaki, are is still available, albeit less widely than takoyaki. One the main differences between takoyaki and akashiyaki is the latter’s generous use of eggs and jinko, a starchier style of wheat flour. Additionally, while takoyaki often contains red pickled ginger (benishoga) and green onions, these are omitted from Akashiyaki leaving a much softer, creamier and fluffier dish.
The other major difference is the use of a dashi-based dipping broth instead of sauce, mayonnaise and the other toppings that often accompany takoyaki. Akashiyaki definitely has its fans out there and it can serve as a nice, somewhat elegant alternative to sauce soaked takoyaki, but be ready for a much lighter and subtler flavor.
There are a number of Akashiyaki stores around, but Bubutei in the basement of the Hankyu Sanbangai building does a pretty solid version. Pick up 8 pieces for ￥680, a little more than you’d pay for takoyaki, but worth a try to see how the other half lives.
Find Bubutei here
3. Choboyaki
Now, we get to the deep cuts. Choboyaki pre-dates rajioyaki and Akashiyaki and almost straddles the line between okonimiyaki and takoyaki.
Choboyaki (also known as yaki-yaki) was a popular snack during the Taisho and early Showa periods, especially among children who would eat it at festivals and other events.
The cooking process looks similar to takoyaki in that a batter is poured onto a copper hot plate lined with semicircular hollowed-out shapes. Ingredients such as benishoga, konnyaku, green onions, and dried bonito flakes are often also added to the mixture. Whereas takoyaki is cooked by spinning the mixture in the half-dome grill to make a ball shape, choboyaki is made in a machine not too dissimilar from a waffle-maker where a second flat iron plate sandwiches the mixture to cook thoroughly leaving resulting in the choboyaki looking a little like a Lego brick.
Served with lashings of sweet BBQ-style sauce and mayonnaise, the choboyaki appears at first glance like a form of okonomiyaki, but the first bite feels more like a fluffy takoyaki minus the octopus. Or is it like an okonomiyaki minus the cabbage? Either way, choboyaki is delicious and well worth seeking out.
There might be other places around that make choboyaki, but the easiest option is Ganso Choboyaki in Hanshin Departments Store’s Snack Park. One choboyaki will set you back a laughable ￥185.
Hanshin Department Store Snack Park
Now that I’ve mentioned Snack Park, let’s take a little peek at this “hidden-in-plain sight” gem of the Osaka Station complex.
If you’re underground and heading toward Hanshin Department Store from the Midosuji Subway, Tanimachi, or Hankyu lines, turn left just as you get to the Hanshin Department Store. About one minute walk and you’ll come to Snack Park. You could be forgiven for thinking it looks like a basic food court, however pound for pound, Snack Park punches well above the rank of “food court”.
Inside Snack Park, you will find not only Ganso Choboyaki, which has been serving up choboyaki in the department store for over thirty years you can visit 12 other stores serving up classic B-grade gourmet comfort food for extremely reasonable prices. Everything from omurice (omelet served over ketchup rice) to sushi, udon noodles, tendon (assorted tempura served over rice), soba noodles, Chinese noodles, okonomiyaki, yakisoba (grilled noodles) and ramen.
4. Naporitan
You can also find another classic, Japanese-style Naporitan (ナポリタン) is a Japanese pasta dish made with spaghetti, ketchup-based sauce, and ingredients such as onions, green peppers, mushrooms, sausage or ham. It is typically seasoned with black pepper and sometimes finished with Parmesan cheese.
5. Ikayaki
Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki has been serving up grilled squid wrapped in a omelet pancake (ikayaki) in the Hanshin Departement Store since 1957. You may have come across ikayaki at festivals in the rather confronting form of a whole squid simply grilled on a BBQ and served up on a stick, however the version served here is a little easier on the eye and arguably tastier.
Squid is chopped and grilled and then coated with sweet, tangy worcestershire-type BBQ sauce and mayonnaise before being wrapped in a light, savory crepe-like dough made with meriken wheat flour. At only ￥187 a piece, it’s an absolute bargain. You can also try versions made with green onions or a deluxe version that comes wrapped in a fluffy omelet.
6. Chijimi
Finally for one last dish to try while you’re in Snack Park: chijimi.
To be fair chijimi is fairly widely available so there are many options out there besides Snack Park, but if you’re already there, you may as well grab one.
Despite its Korean roots, chijimi is closely related to okonomiyaki, in that it is made with an egg-based batter and grilled meat or seafood, but differs in in that is served much thinner and doesn’t usually include cabbage nor the BBQ-style sauce or mayonnaise that tops a good okonomiyaki. It does, however, come with a dipping sauce made with vinegar, soy and seasme oil and other spices. Or in the case of the chijimi served here by Ajidokoro Kuraya, the chijimi is pre-dressed with the sauce. Chijimi is crispier and firmer than an okonomiyaki, but still soft and somewhat spicier without actually being “hot”.
If you pop by Snack Park after 3 o’clock all the stores offer a great value “beer and one plate special”, making it a perfect stop-in for those mid afternoon hunger pangs.
So, next time you’re thinking of Osaka cuisine, step outside the box a little and give some time to some of the dishes that have played an equally important role in the evolution of Kansai food.
Find Hanshin Snack Park here
7. Monjayaki
Monjayaki is a similar take on the okonomiyaki model that originated in the Kanto region, particularly in the Tokyo area.
It is made with similar ingredients such as flour, cabbage and meat or seafood, however monjayaki contains a higher water content and is only grilled on one side giving it a runnier, more liquid-like consistency.
Monjayaki can be found around Osaka and is occasionally on the menu at okonomiyaki restaurants, however it is arguably less popular with Osakans who much prefer their local version.
8. Tonpeiyaki
If I had one gripe with Snack Park it would the absence of tonpeiyaki.
Tonpeiyaki is basically the ingredients of an okonomiyaki – minus the flour, grilled on a hotplate and then wrapped in a tamagoyaki omelet and topped with sauce and mayonnaise. Not often found as a stand-alone store like takoyaki or okonomiyaki, but frequently spotted on menus in izakayas and standing bars. Worth a try.
9. Kushikatsu
If we’re talking about flour-based dishes from Osaka and western Japan, I’d be remiss not to mention kushikatsu.
The kushikatsu name comes from kushi, meaning skewer, and katsu deep-fried and crumbed. Anything from meat, seafood, vegetables, cheese and even cakes or sweets get the kushikatsu treatment of being lathered in an egg, flour and milk (or water) batter before being rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.
Many may be familiar with the “no double dipping” rule of most kushikatsu restaurants where a tub of dipping sauce is shared among diners. The rule was made famous by the popular Kushikatsu Daruma store that launched in downtown Shin-Sekai in 1929.
These days there are 16 Kushikatsu Daruma restaurants scattered across Kansai, and numerous other kushikatsu standing bars to be found around train stations all across Osaka.
10. Kushiage
As a side note, you may have seen restaurants offering kushiage. Age also means deep fry, and they’re both on sticks. So what is the difference between kushikatsu and kushiage?
There are some theories about the difference lying in the origins, with kushikatsu being from Osaka and kushiage being from the Kanto (eastern) region, however, the main difference lies in the sauce offering. As mentioned, in a kushikatsu restaurant or standing bar you will often be sharing a communal tub of Worcestershire-based bbq sauce.
However a kushiage restaurant will offer not only individual sauce servings for each customer, but often a variety of sauces to be enjoyed with the different dishes. Sauces such as ponzu, curry sauce, mustard, chili, or even just plain salt. Kushiage restaurants will often tend to be “seated” as opposed to the familiar kushikatsu standing bars.
If you’re willing to spend a little more than you would at a kushikatsu place, Kushiage Kitchen Dan is a great option.
The original store is in Ishibashi (northern Osaka) on the Takarazuka Hankyu Line and offers a great selection of skewers including foie gras, prosciutto and basil or the local specialty of quails egg with chicken ramen broth. Well worth the visit.
