What is takoyaki?
Takoyaki is a dish made of flour dough filled with octopus and condiments, fried into a round shape.
The dish is usually seasoned with a sauce, mayonnaise, aonori (green laver), and more.
It is a specialty of Osaka and one of the most popular yatai foods (street food).
It is said that takoyaki was invented in Osaka in the 1930s, by the owner of a food cart restaurant, by modifying the traditional teppan-yaki (iron plate grilling) dish in a unique way.
This new dish quickly became popular among the people of Osaka, as it was inexpensive and satisfying.
From then on, takoyaki has spread throughout Japan, giving rise to many variations.
Varieties of takoyaki
There are many different types of ingredients used in takoyaki.
Some of these are explained below.
Takoyaki
The basic takoyaki is made of octopus cut into small pieces, tenkasu (tempura flakes), green onions, ginger, takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and aonori (green laver).
Depending on the takoyaki shop, they can have a fluffy or crispy texture as the balls are fried using more oil.
Negi-takoyaki (scallion takoyaki)
A takoyaki topped with plenty of fresh green onions, which gives a rich flavor.
Cheese takoyaki
This is takoyaki with cheese inside, topped with cheese, or with cheese sauce on the outside.
You can enjoy the texture and flavor of the stretchy cheese.
Mentaiko takoyaki (spicy cod roe takoyaki)
Takoyaki topped with mentaiko (spicy cod roe) sauce or mayonnaise with mentaiko.
You can enjoy the spiciness of mentaiko.
Akashiyaki (egg-rich small round dumplings)
A specialty of Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture. It can also be called tamagoyaki.
Mainly made with eggs and plenty of dashi broth, it is characterized by a softer, fluffier texture than takoyaki.
Akashiyaki is often eaten by dipping in a dashi broth rather than with sauce or mayonnaise like takoyaki.
The dashi is made of soy sauce, mirin (sweet rice wine), bonito flakes, and other ingredients.
How to make takoyaki
First, prepare the octopus.
Boil octopus and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Make sure to cut them in the same size as the texture is important.
Next, prepare the batter.
Takoyaki chefs sometimes use commercial takoyaki flour, but they also make the batter using their own original recipe.
The batter contains flour, water, and eggs, with the proportions being exceedingly important.
The thickness of the batter is a key factor in determining whether the texture becomes fluffy or crunchy.
Heat up a griddle to fry the takoyaki.
Maintaining an even temperature on the griddle is essential, as the takoyaki will quickly lose its shape if it burns at a temperature or if the temperature is too low.
When the griddle is warm, oil the entire surface.
When the oil on the griddle is heated, pour the batter into the holes of the griddle.
Place octopus, tenkasu, green onion, and red ginger evenly in the holes.
Once the batter is cooked and beginning to harden, rotate the takoyaki and heat the unset areas.
Rotate the balls with a pick while they are still cooking to form a round shape.
Rotate the balls several times to cook them evenly.
Rotating takoyaki is the most important skill in making the dish.
When cooked, use a pick to pick up the balls and serve them onto a special plate (boat-shaped wooden, thin plate).
Add toppings such as sauce, mayonnaise, aonori, and bonito flakes on top.
How to eat takoyaki
Eat with wooden skewers (toothpicks), a pick, or chopsticks.
Be careful not to burn yourself, as takoyaki balls are quite hot when freshly made.
Although the balls are bite-sized, we recommend cutting a ball a little to release the steam inside before eating in one bite.
