Otafuku Okonomiyaki Flour for Japanese Okonomiyaki Pancakes, 12 Servings, 15.9 Oz (1 Lb)

Edit: When I originally wrote this review the cost had skyrocketed for this excellent product. As of right now 8/2015, the cost is now MUCH more reasonable (cheap in fact!). My 3 stars is now a SOLID 5. Excellent product. What happened to the cost? Yikes! After purchasing an Okonomiyaki kit, I fell in love with them. But the cost of the kits is high, so I decided to go with this flour. Awesome. A little wakame, a little dashi and you have something delicious and much more economical than the kit (http://www.amazon.com/Okonomiyaki-Japanese-pizza-people-servings/dp/B004FTC6UY/ref=cm_cr-mr-title). I've purchased this exact flour several times, the last time in Feb. In less than 2 months, the cost here has doubled making this not so attractive anymore. If you love Okonomiyaki as much as I do, you will want to find an Asian (or better Japanese) grocery near you. While not exactly the same, you can also substitute takoyaki flour if it is available. In a REAL pinch, you can substitute AP or Cake (Better) flour and add some soda & baking powder to make it sticky (the yam in this flour makes the stickiness, and you need to replicate that) . Like I said, I am CRAZY for this stuff now.... Here are some hints/tips. Hopefully I'm not offending any obasan! In either case (reg flour or this), you need a couple more things. If you are in love with Japanese food, you probably already have most of this: Rather than water, use dashi. Ok, I cheat and use the freeze dried instant dashi, but the flavor is MUCH improved. A pinch or two of some fine katsuobushi really turns up the flavor. If you have the time, heat some oil in a pan and drizzle in whatever chicken or fish batter you have laying around for those 'cruncjy bits'. Secret tip: Rice Krispies are an awesome substitute for this. Rather than use Aonori powder, I like using Wakame. Just a few flakes rehydrated and then chopped up add that 'from the sea' flavor that is missing. Eggs. Plain old eggs. As for what you throw into the batter, cabbage naturally, scallions, and then whatever else you have in the fridge. Into the batter I have added: Shrimp, Scallops, twice cooked Pork, Mushrooms (any kind), Onions, Carrot, Daikon. Ok, really ANYTHING you like. This is basically a japanese casserole. FYI: I like regular old CHEAP cabbage, not that expensive napa stuff. Do NOT forget the bacon!!!! You can go all out and add extra layers: I love adding a layer of fried noodles (yakisoba), a layer of Bean Sprouts, and a fried egg. Those are all taken from the Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. Most importantly, you need the sauce. Even the kits do not come with the sauce since it is a staple in most Japanese homes. I love the sauce on everything, so I went all out and purchased the BIG BOTTLE -> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MFNL6CG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Perfect!

✨I have tried many okonomiyaki recipes with plain flour and the comparison is like night and day. The Otafuku Ingredients make incredible okonomiyaki including flavor, texture, and fluffiness. It was a ‘WOW’ effect for me. The 1lb. package is perfect for several batches to maintain freshness. I would highly recommend this to everyone that loves okonomiyaki! ✨💖✨

The real deal straight from Japan. I used to go to okonomiyaki restaurants there and this is an easy mix with a couple of eggs and shredded cabbage. I use the same brand traditional sauce and it is so good! Everyone I've made it for loves it! It looks like a small bag but it makes more than you think. Each batch which is a half a cup of flour makes two huge pancakes. I bought another bag as I'm finishing the first one. I will keep repurchasing. Maybe someday I will try the newer sweet and spicy sauce. Also it's fun to experiment with- I've made it with diced cooked Spam and also rotisserie chicken and then just by itself with some green onion. Yum! I use my own mayonnaise instead if kewpie Japanese mayo and that mixed with the sauce tasted like a McDonald's burger to me lol so I just use the sauce now. Less calories too. I don't care for Bonito fish flakes so I leave that off as well

I used this flour to make okonomiyaki instead of using regular all-purpose flour. It was fine, but I don't know that it is any better than regular flour. I'll have to make it with regular flour again to compare.

We buy this all the time. It makes making okonomiyaki super easy. Tastes great.

Instructions were very easy to follow, just need to add 2 eggs and 3/4 cup of water to 1 cup of the mix, there’s detailed instructions with pictures to follow and they’re in English! Since you make the Okonomiyaki yourself you can add as much of the toppings as you like and omit ingredients that you don’t like, something that would be a bit difficult when you’re ordering it at a restaurant. I added minced cabbage, fried tofu, tenkasu, pickled ginger, umami seasoning from Trader Joe’s, and shrimp to the batter. I topped it off with a fried egg, yakisoba noodles, Kewpie Mayo, Okonomiyaki sauce, Aonori seaweed, and Katsuobushi flakes. The Okonomiyaki ended up tasting even better than the ones that I’ve eaten at restaurants, I’ll be making my own from now on.

Really fast delivery service I was impressed, very good quality too and in good condition, I am hoping to use it today or tomorrow we'll see how it tastes after but for now I am glad I got this. *Edit: This was great I used it to make okonomiyaki (obviously) but it really worked great and tasted perfect, the recipe I was following was a little weird so I had to add a lot of this to make up for it but basically just doubled the portion and it was incredible I literally used 2 cups and the rest of the ingredients (veggies, eggs and whatnot) and I made about 20 okonomiyakis I counted them. And, even better, I ate them for days it really was awesome during quarantine, and I didn't even use up the whole package. So I can make a smaller portion again as well. Great buy!