Takoyaki

Calling Takoyaki 'octopus balls' doesn't do justice to this delectable snack from Osaka. It is a popular Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (tako), tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion.

Takoyaki are brushed with takoyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce) and mayonnaise, and then sprinkled with green laver (aonori) and shavings of dried bonito (katsuobushi). There are many variations to the takoyaki recipe, for example, ponzu (soy sauce with dashi and citrus vinegar), goma-dare (sesame-and-vinegar sauce) or vinegared dashi.

Yaki is derived from "yaku," which is one of the cooking methods in Japanese cuisine, meaning "to fry or grill", and can be found in the names of other Japanese cuisine items such as teppanyaki, yakitori, teriyaki, okonomiyaki and sukiyaki.

How to Make Takoyaki

Ingredients

Batter
300g all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 liter (4 1/4 cups) of cold water
3 grams salt
1/2 teaspoon kombu dashi stock granules
1/2 teaspoon katsuo dashi stock granules
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Filling
cubes of boiled octopus, or your choice of cooked, cubed protein (you could use shrimp, squid, chicken, hot dogs, etc)
sliced green onions
tempura bits or rice krispies
shredded cheese

Toppings
Japanese mayonaise
Takoyaki sauce (you can buy this in a bottle at most Asian groceries, it usually has a picture of takoyaki on the front)
bonito flakes
aonori (powdered seaweed) or seaweed strips

Directions

Beat the eggs and add the water, and stock granules. Add the egg-water mixture to the flour and salt and mix well. Heat up your pan and oil the individual compartments with a oil brush or use a paper towel dipped in oil.

Pour the batter into the individual compartments up to the top. Don’t worry if the batter over flows a bit. Add green onions, your protein, tempura bits or rice krispies, and shredded cheese (is using).

After a while, the bottom of the takoyakis will be cooked through. At this point, you can use a skewer to turn them over 90 degrees. If you can’t turn the takoyaki easily, it probably needs to cook for a bit longer. Wait a minute or so and then do another 90 degree turn. The balls will become easier to turn the more they cook.

The takoyaki are done when they’re lightly brown and crispy on the outside and they turn easily in their holes. Overall I’d say it takes about 10 minutes per batch, from start to finish.

To serve, place the takoyaki on a plate and drizzle with Japanese mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce. Generously sprinkle on the bonito flakes and aonori.