Okonomi sauce is a sweet-savory brown sauce specifically for Okonomiyaki.
Okonomi Sauce (お好みソース) is the condiment for Okonomiyaki, Japanese savory pancakes. The sauce blends 20 spices and ingredients, including vinegar, spices, vegetables, and fruits such as tomatoes, dates, and apples. It has a perfectly addicting balance of spicy, sweet, and savory.
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What is Okonomi Sauce?
Okonomi Sauce (お好みソース) is the sweet-savory brown sauce slathered on top of Okonomiyaki. It’s an indispensable ingredient, along with Japanese mayonnaise, katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and aonori.
While each brand has its recipe, it’s usually a combination of Worcestershire sauce, ketchup or tomato paste, fruit and vegetable puree, soy sauce, and spices.
What Does It Taste Like?
It’s fruity, sweet, and thick to spread over okonomiyaki.
Recipes Using Okonomi Sauce
Where To Buy
You can buy commercial sauce sold in bottles at Japanese/Asian supermarkets or online retailers like Amazon. You will probably be able to find this brand – Otafuku Okonomi Sauce (pictured below).
Homemade Okonomiyaki Sauce
You can make a homemade version if you can’t find the commercial sauce. While it’s not an exact replication of the brand’s formula, it’s pretty close.
Substitutions
You can swap it for yakisoba sauce, tonkatsu sauce, or takoyaki sauce if you already have it. The balance of sweet and savory flavors, ingredients, and viscosity slightly differ, but won’t be a huge noticeable difference.
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