During the Pacific War and afterwords, food shortages plagued Japan, and wheat rations were especially short. So, to stretch the available wheat, enterprising Japanese cooks created a flexible food called Okonomiyaki which is roughly translated as 'Fried whatevertheheckyouwant'. The modern dish mirrors the original in using a very thin layer of wheat pancake topped with cabbage, bean sprouts, cooked ramen noodles, other toppings, an egg, and sauces and spices. Throughout the cooking process, the cook was careful to shape the Okonomiyaki into perfect circles.
