Okonomi Sauce by Otafuku Foods
When talking about okonomiyaki pancake sauce, the first thing that any Japanese thinks of is Okonomi Sauce from Otafuku Foods. Before their Okonomi Sauce was invented, people used to eat okonomiyaki with condiments like Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, so Okonomi Sauce established the standard of today’s okonomiyaki sauce. With its plentiful vegetables and fruit blended with about 20 types of spices and characterized by a rich sweet and sour flavor, Okonomi Sauce has been a constant best-seller for about 60 years since first appearing in 1952.
In 1922, Otafuku Foods was established in Hiroshima as Sasaki Shoten, a wholesaler and retail store of sake and soy sauce, catering customized products to their clientele. Taking advantage of their expertise, in 1938 they began vinegar production. However, in 1945 stores and houses were all destroyed when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. At the time, people in Japan were all looking toward post-war reconstruction, and Sasaki Shoten was not an exception. In 1946, they leased out a sake brewery and reopened their vinegar brewing business. Then in 1949, with the “advent of the Western-style food era,” they began to tackle the production of Worcestershire sauce. After only around one year, they started selling “Otafuku Worcestershire sauce.”
However, Sasaki Shoten was a latecomer to the sauce industry, and unfortunately it was hard for them to achieve a solid share in the market. To find a breakthrough, they began paying visits to food stalls and restaurants to allow their taste to be sampled directly, and some of the places they went to were okonomiyaki restaurants. During their visit, they learned that proprietors in okonomiyaki houses had struggled to solve the problem of thin Worcestershire sauce that did not stay well on okonomiyaki, dripping down the iron plate and evaporating very easily.” With this, Sasaki Shoten began developing new sauce that would top well on okonomiyaki. Through trial and error, they adjusted the taste and thickness and finally Okonomi Sauce was born in 1952.
The Okonomiyaki Sauce’s greatest feature is its thickness. When making Worcestershire sauce, the pulp (fibers) from the vegetables and fruit, and powder from the spices settle out. These sediments, which were usually discarded, contain an abundance of nutrients and is a good source of rich flavor. To maximize the benefits of the sediments and to create thick sauce, they incorporated the cooking technique of ankake (a thick starchy sauce made of flour) into their recipe. They experimented over and over and finally in 1952 they succeeded in creating a sauce that stays on top of the okonomiyaki pancake without dripping on the pan.
Today, Otafuku Foods sells a multitude of Okonomi Sauce in Japan like the “reduced calorie,” “spicy” and “kid-friendly” versions. In the U.S. they only sell one standard flavor of Okonomi Sauce, but the sauce can be used in many kinds of cuisines and is versatile in cooking methods such as stir-frying, grilling and even being used as a hidden flavor in pasta sauce.
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Otafuku Foods, Inc.
377 Van Ness Ave. #1208
Torrance, CA 90501
TEL: 310-787-8000
www.otafukufoods.com
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B-kyu Gourmet 
