Kansai

Street food is a handy and quick way to try out new dishes, an alternative to sitting down for a restaurant meal. It has grown in popularity in recent years and you can find stalls and kiosks serving tasty portions in many countries including Japan. The region of Kansai has many unique dishes, including a few mouth-watering street food recipes, with Osaka in particular embracing street food culture. Here is a selection of treats that you can expect to find. Okonomiyaki A street food staple in Kansai, okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake made with batter and shredded cabbage. The remaining ingredients? Well, that’s kind of up to you. Okonomiyaki translates as “grilled how you like it”, so you can pretty much add what you want. Meat, seafood, vegetables, even cheese. The mixture is cooked on a steel griddle and then topped with a garnish (typically seaweed or bonito flakes) and a sauce (Japanese mayo and/or a sweet brown okonomiyaki sauce). The Osaka okonomiyaki differs from the Hiroshima okonomiyaki as the latter is layered rather than mixed together, and also often includes noodles. Takoyaki The other big hitter in Kansai street food, Takoyaki are grilled balls made from a batter including…