Having tried the above Takosenbei at New Year I decided to have a go at making it at home. The students had made a version of this at a local cultural festival and I had seen the octopus crackers on sale in my local supermarket. I figured that it can’t be too difficult to make.

The version the students made was quite simple without the egg and the yakisoba (noodles). A teacher at the school I was working at saw the above picture and was surprised that there was yakisoba and egg on it. In my version I decided to keep the egg but not the yaki soba. Ingredients are below. Clockwise they are: mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, egg, rice crispy things and takosenbei.

First you spread a layer on the okonomiyaki sauce across the cracker. This provides a sticky base for the rest of the ingredients. Then you spread the rice crispy things.

Next you drizzle the mayonnaise across the top. This was as far as the students went but I thought that this was a bit boring so I went further.

I fried an egg and put it on top. Sunnyside up works best as it allows the yoke to break and spread across the cracker as you eat it. It can get a bit messy though.

I’ve made this a few times now and it’s quite a nice snack.