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When we make okonomiyaki, for example, the base ingredient is the mix of
cabbage, dough and eggs. There are many okonomiyaki topping but the base
ingredient is the same.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/YhiuL.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/YhiuL.jpg)

My question is

> What do Japanese call the base ingredients?
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2016-01-12T17:46:05.373
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2016-01-13T03:41:03.660
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question
word-choice
What do we say the base ingredient in Japanese?
「[基本食材]{きほんしょくざい}」 or 「基本[材料]{ざいりょう}」 would do regardless of the dish.

The word "dai" that you mentioned in the comment would be 「[台]{だい}」, which
refers to the crust part of okonomiyaki, pizza, etc. Since you included
**_cabbage_** , however, I would not use 「台」 for an answer to your question.
「台」 is just flour and water, basically.
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2016-01-12T22:59:26.443
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2016-01-12T22:59:26.443
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answer
The "dough" part of okonomiyaki is called （お好み焼きの） **生地【きじ】**. 生地 basically
refers to the paste made by mixing flour and water. 生地 is also used for bread,
doughnuts, pizza, udon, spaghetti, etc.

[According to
Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E5%A5%BD%E3%81%BF%E7%84%BC%E3%81%8D):

> 水に溶いた小麦粉を **生地** として、野菜、肉、魚介類などを具材とし、鉄板の上で焼き上げ、ソース・マヨネーズ・青のり等の調味料をつけて食するもの

Strictly speaking, 生地 only refers to the flour and water part. At least in
Tokyo, cabbage, ginger and eggs are _mixed_ with the flour (rather than being
topped) as the "base ingredient", but I think it's still safely called 生地 as a
whole ([see this
recipe](http://www.nisshin.com/entertainment/komugiko_club/meikan/05/03.html)).

In everyday conversations, **土台【どだい】** or **ベース** can also refer to the same
"base" part of okonomiyaki. These words just mean "base".

If you're looking for a broader term which can be used for any dishes that can
be topped (ice cream, ramen, hot dogs, curry and rice...), the ベース (noun) or
プレーン (na-adjective) would refer to the "plain" one.
[プレーンなお好み焼き](http://portal.nifty.com/kiji/130604160812_1.htm) would mean
okonomiyaki without any fillings.
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2016-01-13T03:24:16.470
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2016-01-13T03:41:03.660
2016-01-13T03:41:03.660
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answer