Monjayaki - the food -

Monjayaki is a GREAT Japanese treat (food but really fun food). It requires a special grill to make it right and we usually would eat at a shop, like an Okonomiyaki shop, but we also try to make it at home. I have searched quite a bit for the actual origin of Monjayaki, however there are so many different stories. I hope to enlist help to make this an “All about Monjayaki” page and to collect some of this history, stories, facts, photos and all that can be found. If you have something good, please share. There are currently links to sites in Japanese and English about Monjayaki with cooking instructions and maps to shops in Asakusa (in Tokyo) in the links area.

Hagashi

Monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き) is a dish similar to Okonomiyaki but also pretty different. The ingredients are similar to Okonomiyaki and the tastes can be a lot alike however the look and consistancy of are very different. Okonomiyaki uses Eggs to hold the ingredients together making something like a pancake out of it, however Monjayaki does not use Eggs. Monjayaki also uses a quantity of water making it a soupy texture even after cooking on the grill. Whereas Okonomiyaki is eaten from a plate after cooking and using Hashi Monjayaki is eaten off the grill while it is cooking, using a small metal spatula called Hagashi.

Making Monjayaki at home: