REUTERS
May 23, 2023 at 16:10 JST
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, is shown how to make traditional Japanese okonomiyaki pancakes with traveling British journalists at a restaurant in Hiroshima on May 20. (Pool Photo via AP)
HIROSHIMA--The cheap and cheerful savory Japanese pancake that stirs both feelings of local pride and deep rivalry in the city of Hiroshima has found its newest fan in British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
During his visit for the three-day Group of Seven (G-7) leaders summit in Hiroshima, Sunak sampled okonomiyaki, a heaped mound of batter, cabbage, noodles and often meat that is fried on a hot plate and then smothered with savory sauce.
Its name means "cooked as you like" and it is widely considered "soul food" in Japan. In some restaurants it is fried in front of the customers, in others the customers fry it themselves.
It is also the subject of fierce regional rivalry, not unlike the debate over thin crust or Chicago-style deep dish pizza in the United States.
In Hiroshima the ingredients are layered before cooking, but in Osaka they are mixed together first. Sunak, who tried okonomiyaki with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida - who represents Hiroshima in parliament - tried it Hiroshima style.
Sunak told reporters he "particularly enjoyed" having the okonomiyaki during his visit.
"Prime Minister Kishida pointed out to me how you do that – how you do that here in Hiroshima is different to how they do that in Tokyo, different to Osaka," he said on the sidelines of the G-7 summit.
"He said the Hiroshima ones are the best. I have no reason to disagree. It has been delicious."
Hiroshima, home to more than 1 million people, boasts some 800 Okonomiyaki restaurants. Ahead of the G-7 summit some local restaurants rolled out special versions to cater to foreign tastes by including ingredients from the different G-7 countries.
There is one with German sauerkraut, and a maple syrup-infused Canadian version. The French option has cabbage, bean sprouts, bacon, cheese, sauce and a fried egg, all wrapped in a crepe.
It was not clear if Sunak got to try the British version - which featured fish and chips - or if he even wanted to.
Professor teaches others in the joys of Hiroshima’s ‘okonomiyaki’
March 31, 2022
‘Okonomiyaki’ themed on G-7 hits menus in host Hiroshima
March 15, 2023
Kishida seeks to bond with Biden in his first visit as president
May 19, 2022
Sauerkraut or sardines? Hiroshima’s pancake goes global for G7 summit
May 15, 2023
ASAHI HAIKUIST NETWORK/ David McMurray
May 19, 2023
Hiroshima ‘okonomiyaki’ served in Jordan to promote peace
January 18, 2023
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
