Make Takoyaki

Takoyaki is a Japanese snack made of octopus and a savory batter. They are shaped like little round balls. This savory snack is a popular street food and is widely available at street vendors, supermarkets, and food courts in Japan. This dish is made with a dashi (the base for miso soup) flavored batter. It is usually served with takoyaki sauce and spicy Japanese mayonnaise. This recipe does require some specific Japanese ingredients, which can all be found at Japanese grocery stores and Asian markets.

Ingredients

Takoyaki

• 3.5-5 ounces cooked octopus
• 1/4 cup katsuobushi flakes
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kombucha
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 2/3 cup dashi stock
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1/3 cup tenkasu

Takoyaki Sauce

• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mentsuyu
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ketchup

Japanese Spicy Mayo

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

Steps

Making the Takoyaki Batter

1. Prepare your octopus if you have purchased it fresh rather than cooked. You can purchase octopus at seafood markets or specialty Asian stores.
   • First, you will need to poach the octopus. This means you will submerge the octopus in a poaching liquid such as water or stock.
   • Poach for about 13 minutes per pound.
   • Let the octopus cool in the poaching liquid.
   • Once cool, remove the skin by rubbing it with a paper towel. It should come away easily.
   • Sear the outside of the skinned octopus in a skillet or grill for about 8 minutes per side. If sliced thin, only sear the octopus for 2 minutes per side.
2. Chop up the cooked octopus. You will need to do this with a sharp knife on a cutting board. This recipe calls for 3.5-5 ounces of cooked octopus but this amount may vary according to your tastes.
   • Cut the octopus into small pieces. Most recipes call for 1/2 inch cubes of octopus.
   • The chunks of octopus need to be small so several can fit into each piece of takoyaki.
   • Set aside in a large bowl.
3. Grind some katsuobushi flakes. They will need to be ground into a fine consistency. This recipe uses about 1/4 cup of the flakes.
   • You can do this using a mortar and pestle.
   • Place the flakes into the mortar and grind them with the pestle by scraping and pushing against the mortar.
   • Alternatively, you can use an electric spice grinder.
4. Combine the dry ingredients of the recipe. These include: 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of kombucha, and 1 tsp baking powder.
   • Put all of these in a medium sized glass bowl.
   • Whisk together the dry ingredients to make sure they are evenly mixed.
   • If you do not adequately mix the dry ingredients you can get clumps of baking powder in the batter. This can cause parts of your batter to have an unpleasant taste.
5. Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. Make sure this is evenly whisked.
   • Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients.
   • Use a whisk to stir the mixture.
   • Whisk until the egg is evenly mixed into the dry ingredients.
6. Add the dashi stock slowly, a little at a time. Whisk as you do so to make a smooth batter.
   • The batter should be about the thickness and consistency of pancake batter.
   • If the batter appears too thin, add a small amount of flour and whisk thoroughly.
   • If the batter appears too thick, add a small amount of dashi stock and mix.

Cooking the Takoyaki

1. Heat the takoyaki pan on medium high heat. You want the outside to cook quickly, but not burn.
   • A takoyaki pan is a metal pan that resembles a muffin tin. It has small round holes for each piece of takoyaki.
   • If you don't have a takoyaki pan, a mini muffin tin will suffice.
   • Generously brush the takoyaki pan with oil.
   • Use a pasty brush to do this. Be careful when working with oil over a hot pan.
   • Don't forget to oil the ridges in between the small bowls in the pan.
2. Wait until you see smoke rising from the pan before adding the batter. Fill the holes with the batter completely.
   • It is ok for the batter to overflow slightly.
   • To make this easier, use a measuring cup with a handle to pour the batter.
   • This will also help with spilling and mess.
3. Add the octopus, green onion, tenkatsu and powdered katsuobushi to the takoyaki. Do this by putting 3 pieces of octopus into each takoyaki.
   • Sprinkle on 1/2 cup of chopped green onion.
   • After that, sprinkle on the tenkasu and powdered katsuobushi.
   • The takoyaki will now need to brown.
   • If you like red ginger, you can also about 2 tablespoons of Beni shōga to the batter.
4. Set a three minute timer. During this time, the base of the takoyaki will brown.
   • Don't turn or disturb the takoyaki during these three minutes.
   • Let the takoyaki cook until the timer goes off.
   • Afterwards, you will flip the takoyaki.
5. Break the connected batter between each bowl after the timer goes off. Use long skewers to do this by cutting and scraping the batter between each takoyaki.
   • Turn each piece 180 degrees so that the cooked portion on the bottom of the each ball faces upwards.
   • Stuff the edges as you turn them so the ball ends up a nice rounded shape. To stuff the edges, push any pieces of takoyaki that are sticking up under the edge of each hole.
   • Use the skewers to do this so you don't get burnt.
6. Set a timer for 4 minutes. During this time, turn the balls constantly.
   • This will make sure the takoyaki cook evenly.
   • The takoyaki should be golden brown on all sides when cooked.
   • When the 4 minute timer goes off, it is time to plate the takoyaki.
7. Transfer the takoyaki to a plate. Use the skewers to do this as they will be very hot. You will now add the sauces.
   • Pour takoyaki sauce and spicy Japanese mayonnaise over them.
   • Sprinkle dried seaweed and some katsuobushi flakes on top.
   • Serve immediately, but be careful as the takoyaki will be very hot inside.

Making the Sauces for Takoyaki

1. Prepare the takoyaki sauce. This is a very simple procedure involving 4 key ingredients.
   • In a small bowl, add 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon mentsuyu, 3/4 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon ketchup.
   • Whisk the ingredients together.
   • Pour over takoyaki.
   • If you want to make the sauce ahead of time, you can store it in the refrigerator.
2. Make the Japanese spicy mayonnaise. This uses regular mayonnaise and some seasonings.
   • Put 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise in a bowl.
   • Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar.
   • Whisk the ingredients together.
   • Serve on top of takoyaki or refrigerate.

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See also

• Make Tempura
• Make Dorayaki
• Make Gyoza Dumplings
• Make Mochi
• Make Miso Soup
• Make Okonomiyaki
• Make Chicken Katsu
• Make Bento
• Make Onigiri
• Make Microwave Mochi

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