Griddle & dumplings ── Konamono (flour-based griddle dishes)
In-oko
In-oko — an udon-forward Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki from Innoshima
"In-oko," from Innoshima in Onomichi, Hiroshima, is an okonomiyaki built around udon. On this island of shipbuilding and citrus groves, the udon-forward style is said to have taken hold as something eaten as both a noodle dish and a light meal.
- Origin: Hiroshima Onomichi (Innoshima)
- About 620 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
The standard layers of cabbage and pork stay the same, but In-oko is said to favor udon as its noodle, and it tends to carry more noodle than other Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Udon's chewy bite tangles with the cabbage's sweetness, making for a dish that satisfies more like a noodle meal. With relatively less batter, the noodle is said to stand out even more.
How it's made
Layering batter, cabbage, and pork before piling on a generous amount of udon and steaming it matches Hiroshima city's method, but the larger amount of udon is said to call for a slightly longer steam. Egg and sauce finish it the same way as standard Hiroshima okonomiyaki. How the udon is boiled differs by shop, so its firmness varies from one plate to the next.
Why it took this shape
Innoshima grew through shipbuilding and citrus farming as a Seto Inland Sea island, and a filling, udon-heavy dish is thought to have suited shipyard workers there. Its noodle-forward character is also said to reflect an island's limited range of ingredients, where udon was simply the staple most within reach. Within Hiroshima's shared layered format, island life is said to have tipped the balance toward more noodle. This island-shaped style is said to still be rooted in Innoshima's tables today.
Before you go
- Tanabata and festival food stallsA guide to the somen said to be eaten on Tanabata, and to festival-stall staples like yakisoba, takoyaki, candy apples, and shaved ice.
- At yatai food stalls and while eating on the streetPaying and ordering at a yatai food stall, handling your trash, the etiquette of eating as you walk, and how to step into a Hakata yatai.
Dishes in the same style
- AkashiyakiOctopus folded into a batter of wheat flour, jin-ko starch, egg, and dashi, cooked and dipped in a warm broth — Akashi's own take on the round batter-and-octopus dish, distinguished from takoyaki by that broth in place of sauce.
- Fuchu-yakiA Fuchu, Hiroshima take on okonomiyaki that swaps sliced pork belly for ground beef or pork worked right into the batter, so the meat's flavor is said to come through evenly in every bite.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Hiroshima
- Anago MeshiConger eel, grilled kabayaki-style, is sliced and layered over rice cooked in dashi—a dish from Miyajima. It uses "Seto anago," prized for the fat that fast currents help build into the fish, and is said to have begun in 1901 as a bento sold at Miyajimaguchi station.
- AzumaSardine-like mamakari, cured in vinegar, is pressed onto seasoned okara instead of vinegared rice in this coastal sushi. It is said to have begun as a way to stretch scarce rice by substituting the cheap, plentiful soy pulp, and was served at festivals and New Year's gatherings.
- Bishu NabeChicken, gizzard, and pork are simmered with nothing more than salt, pepper, and sake in this hot pot from Saijo, one of Japan's noted brewing towns. It is said to have begun as a simple meal cooked by sake brewers between batches, seasoned lightly so as not to dull their palate for tasting.
- EbamakiRice is tossed with Hiroshima-na pickle, bonito flakes, and sesame, then rolled in toasted nori—a roll from Hiroshima's Eba district, long known for seaweed cultivation. The ends are sometimes tucked shut so it can be eaten one-handed while rowing, a food born for nori fishermen working on the water.
- Fuchu-yakiA Fuchu, Hiroshima take on okonomiyaki that swaps sliced pork belly for ground beef or pork worked right into the batter, so the meat's flavor is said to come through evenly in every bite.
- GansuFish paste coated in panko and fried, a Kure, Hiroshima specialty. Said to have been devised in the postwar 1940s as a way to use leftover fish paste from kamaboko production, an unusual pairing of fried fish cake and cutlet-style crumb.