Last week was Street Fair Food Week on The Kitchn, which reminded of one of my most favorite street fair foods; takoyaki! Found at almost all Japanese fairs and festivals, takoyaki are yummy little balls of goodness.
The word "tako" means octopus, and "yaki" means grilled, which means takoyaki are grilled octopus balls. Bite-sized pieces of boiled octopus are placed in the half-spherical mold of a takoyaki pan, and then a batter mixed with dashi, tempura pieces, and green scallions is poured over. As the batter cooks, it is turned over and it puffs up to form a ball. The balls are then removed from the pan, drizzled with okonomi sauce, sprinkled with dried seaweed, pickled ginger, fish flakes, and Kewpie mayonnaise. Takoyaki is very similar to okonomiyaki in taste and texture.
Takoyaki pans are available online at Amazon, but if you already have an æbleskive pan, that would work. If you loathe buying unitasker gadgets, just make these into little pancakes and they'll still be really delicious.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour*
2 1/2 c. dashi*
2 eggs
1 tentacle of boiled octopus, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 scallions, finely chopped
* Red pickled shredded ginger
* Dried bonito fish flakes
* Aonori (green seaweed powder)
* Kewpie mayonnaise
* Okonomi sauce
Optional:
Tenkasu (pieces of fried tempura batter, available in Japanese groceries)
Preparation:
Mix flour, soup, and eggs in a bowl. (If using batter mix, measure out 1 1/2 cup and add enough water to make a batter the same consistency as pancake batter, and add eggs. Oil up the takoyaki pan or a griddle. Add the batter about 1/3 of the way, then add a piece of octopus and about a teaspoon each of the scallions and ginger, and then finish off with more batter. Grill the balls and turn them over with the metal pick that comes with the takoyaki pan when the tops start bubbling. (If not using a takoyaki pan, flip them over at this point.) When all surfaces are evenly brown, remove to plate and garnish with fish flakes, seaweed, mayonnaise, and okonomi sauce. Enjoy!
* Note: you can buy takoyaki batter mix at Asian grocery stores. If you choose to do this, then omit the flour and dashi from the above ingredient list.
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thank you so much for this recipie, I can't wait to try it out... I actually have an ableskiver pan, and can get the rest of the needed ingredients at a local Asian grocery.
Takoyaki is my favorite cooked snack to get at the sushi restaurant, I had no idea that it could be made at home...
Oh I love these little guys! I did a homestay in the suburbs of Osaka when I was 13 and my host family had a takoyaki grill pan. They laid out all the ingredients and we had a takoyaki-making party. It was so much fun. Though I may have secretly kept a few balls tako-free because at 13 I couldn't quite get over the chewiness of octopus...but in my defense I was, well, 13.
A friend of mine has a couple of takoyaki pans and every so often, a few of us gather for a takoyaki night, taking turns at grilling and flipping over the little balls.
You can easily substitute in shrimp in for the octopus, or anything else, really. Some people like their takoyaki balls firm and browned, though traditionally they're meant to still be almost runny on the inside.
I love takoyaki! I like the "Gindako" brand because the outside is fried and crunchy, but the inside gooey. Some places make the whole thing crunchy or gooey.
For those who are squicked out by octopus, you can put other things in there. Leave out/off the ginger, sauce, and whatnot that wouldn't go, and put anything you want in the middle.
We've done bits of chocolate, fruit (like banana, or strawberry, etc.), cheese, hot dogs, or whatever!
They're fun to make as a group. Takes a bit of skill to get them round and not messy-looking, but it tastes good even if it looks bad. :)
My wife and i love takoyaki while we were in Japan. We debated whether to bring back the heavy cast iron pan with us. We later found the pan at a Korean supermarket. You can also order the electric version on eBay. I blogged about it on our site
Walking around the mall one day, we saw a stall selling Takoyaki - Grilled Octopus Balls. My boyfriend said, "ouch." I asked, "what about the rest of the octopus?"
Then, I saw this post. Hahaha.