In Japan, eating out is a pantomime. Visit an authentic Japanese okonomiyaki restaurant. Here, actions speak louder than words. A plate of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) begins with bowls of assorted ingredients like shredded cabbage (Hiroshima’s version features pre-cooked soba noodles), chopped pieces of raw seafood, julienned gari (pickled pink ginger), and flakes of katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna), also known as bonito, placed next to you by a courteous server. In front of you is a stainless steel teppan grill that sizzles and produces aromas more complex than a Japanese dictionary.
The instructions come in the form of animated gestures from the waitress. She exhorts: Mix all the ingredients with a thick slurry of refined wheat flour, beaten eggs, and water and place it on the lightly oiled teppan. She stands by your side like a sentinel, making sure you bring the mixture into a circular shape with two tiny metal spatulas. Once it’s toasted to perfection on one side, you flip the pancake over and cook it until the other side is equally crisp and golden. Once ready, flakes of aonori seaweed and extra katsuobushi are sprinkled all over. Quantities of special okonomiyaki sauce, made with tomato ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and sweet Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, anoint the final product with edible goodness. This delicious, make-your-own savory pancake dish, aptly named okonomiyaki, translates from Japanese to English as simply “as you like.” The running joke in Japan is that you get the best service at an okonomiyaki restaurant. Because you make everything yourself!
To further enhance your Japanese culinary skills, there are other do-it-yourself options. Like shabu-shabu, which is a lot of fun to make. Named onomatopoeically for the swishing sound that comes from the dashi broth (made from bonito flakes, konbu or kelp, mirinor rice wine and soy sauce) when thin slices of meat like pork and beef are stirred, this dish is best enjoyed with a group of friends. There are Chinese cabbage, shiitake and enokitake mushrooms for vegetarians. Once cooked, the meat is dipped in a bowl of yuzu sauce, a citrus-based ponzu sauce or goma (sesame seed) sauce and accompanied by pieces of rice.
Now let’s move on to Thailand. Similar to shabu-shabu, Thai suki is another Asian make-it-yourself dish that can be found at almost every street market, from Bangkok’s Yaowarat Market in Chinatown to Chiang Mai’s famous night market. To make suki, diners place slices of meat, a few pieces of seafood like shrimp and squid, pork balls, and assorted vegetables into a pot of lemongrass-scented broth that simmers at the table. Once cooked, the meat or vegetables are first dipped in a bowl of spicy suki sauce, called namchimsuki in Thai.
