A TASTE OF OSAKA
✤ KUSHIKATSU
This Japanese dish which is popular in Osaka is bite-sized meat and vegetables skewered, coated in a light batter and fried until golden. Common items on the menu include pork, lotus root and even seasonal fish. Kushikatsu can be easily mistaken for being a type of tempura; however, the two are very different. A staple condiment that goes with the deep-fried skewers is a dipping sauce that dish is incomplete without.
✤ TAKOYAKI
The savoury dish of grilled balls of batter made with flour and eggs filled with octopus chunks and other ingredients like pickled ginger (beni shoga) and leftover fried tempura batter (tenkasu) are hugely popular in Osaka. Typically made fresh in-store, the exterior of a takoyaki ball is a nice golden brown while the interior can be a bit molten.
✤ OKONOMIYAKI
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a teppan. Selected toppings and ingredients are added which can vary greatly (anything from meat, seafood and cheese). This variability is reflected in the dish's name; "okonomi" literally means "to one's liking". The dish is available all over Japan, but is particularly popular in the cities of Hiroshima and Osaka.
✤ KITSUNE UDON
A Japanese comfort dish, Kitsune Udon is a simple dish of udon (thick wheat noodles) served in a hot soup with a piece of deep fried tofu (aburaage). Kitsune means "fox" in Japanese, and the dish is thus named that because fried tofu is believed to be a fox's favourite.