Takoyaki: a recipe for making it at home

Takoyaki: a recipe for making it at home

Takoyaki, or octopus balls, are one of the most recognizable street snacks of the Land of the Rising Sun, which appeared in Osaka. Whether you make classic takoyaki with chunks of octopus or other innards, these spherical dumplings are fun to create with friends and family.

Takoyaki (たこ焼き) is a Japanese snack in the form of small round balls with insides made from pieces of octopus. Takoyaki practically translates as “fried/fried octopus,” which is why some people call them “octopus balls” or “octopus dumplings.”

Facts about takoyaki

Here are some interesting facts about this dish:

• They originated and became popular in Osaka around 1935, and then spread to a huge part of the south and center of the Land of the Rising Sun and beyond.
• This is one of the most favorite Japanese street snacks along with okonomiyaki.
• Takoyaki is usually sold by street vendors, convenience stores, hypermarkets, food courts and, of course, specialty restaurants. In Osaka, you can easily find takoyaki shops all over the city.
• The dish is usually served with slightly salty takoyaki sauce, which mixes well with beer and other alcoholic beverages. That’s why in almost all Izakaya restaurants you can find takoyaki on the menu.

5 ingredients for real takoyaki

There are quite a few takoyaki options in the Land of the Rising Sun. For example, the original Osaka dish does not contain cabbage, but almost all regional versions (in Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo) do.

Here are the ingredients for a traditional takoyaki recipe:

• Dashi flavored dough. It's all very simple. It is a mixture of Japanese dashi broth, all-purpose flour, baking powder, eggs, salt and soy sauce. If you don't want to make it yourself, you can find ready-made takoyaki dough in specialty stores.
• Octopus. In Japanese grocery stores you can buy boiled octopus right away. If you buy a huge carcass, then after making takoyaki, most likely, there will still be enough left to also prepare sashimi, carpaccio and octopus salad (takosu).
• Beni shoga (pickled reddish ginger). Small pieces of beni shogi, or reddish pickled ginger, give the takoyaki a pleasant color and slightly spicy taste.
• Green onions. The dough is yellow, the octopus and beni shoga are reddish... which means you also need green color to make the dish look more appetizing (and savory).
• Tenkasu (leftover tempura). Tenkasu makes takoyaki taste richest and freshest.

What sauce should you serve takoyaki with?

This dish is usually served with Worcestershire sauce or "takoyaki sauce" (store-bought or homemade) and a small amount of Japanese mayonnaise. It is then sprinkled with aonori (dried greenish aquatic plants) and katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings) on top.

Three tips for creating perfect takoyaki

These tips were shared by a resident of Osaka, who has a direct connection to Japanese cuisine, so you should definitely take them into account.

1. Use LOTS of oil. Make sure to have enough oil in the pan because it helps get the takoyaki crispy, and means it'll be easier for you to roll it because the batter won't stick to the surface.
2. Sufficient amount of watery dough. The entire upper part of the grill must be covered with dough after adding the octopus and other ingredients. The dough must fill all the free space in the pan.
3. Turn the takoyaki 90 degrees and add more batter. Remove excess dough from around the wells using skewers. Once the bottom of the takoyaki balls become crispy, turn them 90 degrees to allow the raw dough to pour into the hole. Fill and press the extra dough inside the balls. This will help create a perfectly round shape. Perhaps at the moment it is not completely clear to you what we are talking about, but during the manufacturing process you will understand everything.

When making takoyaki at home, pay close attention to ensure that all the balls are moderately browned.

Takoyaki innards

You don’t like the taste of octopus or you can’t afford to buy it? Then you can experience the following insides instead:

• sausages or bacon,
• canned tuna or pollock caviar,
• shrimp or squid,
• cheese,
• mochi (rice cakes),
• crab sticks,
• kimchi,
• corn,
• greenish peas,
• avocado.

Ingredients

Prepare everything you need in advance, specifically:

• 2 onions,
• 1 tbsp. a spoonful of pickled reddish ginger (beni shoga),
• 120 g boiled octopus,
• ¼ cup (4 grams) katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
• 1 cup (120 g) plain flour,
• 2 tsp. baking powder,
• ½ tsp. kosher sea salt (or half as much table salt),
• 2 huge testicles,
• 1 tsp. soy sauce,
• 1½ cups (360 ml) dashi
• 2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil,
• 15 g tenkasu (leftover tempura).

• takoyaki sauce (tonkatsu sauce),
• Japanese mayonnaise,
• katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes),
• aonori (dried greenish aquatic plants).

Manufacturing

It takes about 25 minutes to make takoyaki.

1. Prepare all ingredients.

2. Cut the green onions into small slices and grind the reddish pickled ginger.

3. Cut the octopus into 1.5 cm pieces or the smallest pieces for kids.

4. Grind the katsuobushi (bonito flakes) into a fine powder.

5. Mix 1 cup (120 g) flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. kosher salt in a large bowl.

6. Add 2 huge eggs, 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 ½ cups (360 ml) dashi.

7. Carefully stir and beat everything together and transfer the dough into a measuring cup with a handle (or any jug with a spout for easy pouring).

8. Heat the takoyaki pan to 200 degrees over medium heat. Using a brush, generously coat the takoyaki pan with oil (both the holes and the connecting flat areas). When you see smoke coming out of the pan, it means it is quite hot. Then you can pour in the batter to fill the holes. However, do not be afraid to slightly overfill the holes. Usually when you add ingredients to the dough, they overflow.

9. Add 1-3 pieces of octopus to each well and sprinkle katsuobushi powder on top.

10. Then sprinkle with tenkasu, add green onions and pickled reddish ginger.

11. After about 3 minutes, when the bottom of the balls has hardened slightly, use skewers to remove the dough that remains between the holes. Then carefully turn any ball 90 degrees, filling the edges as you turn. As you do this, batter will flow out from the inside of each takoyaki ball, creating the other side of the takoyaki ball. Once you have finished spinning all the balls, set the timer for 4 minutes. Continue to twist constantly so that each ball has a nice oval shape. A home takoyaki grill doesn't distribute heat evenly, so it's a good idea to swap the takoyaki balls around so they're all the same coffee color.

12. Transfer the takoyaki balls to a plate and top with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise. Finally, sprinkle them with katsuobushi and dried greenish aquatic plants. Serve them immediately, but keep in mind that they are hot inside.

Takoyaki - fried balls with octopus: recipe with photos

Takoyaki are fried balls of dough with the entrails of octopus, green onions, ginger and other ingredients. When preparing them for the first time, it is better to use a recipe with a photo that explains the technology for making Japanese cuisine.

Ingredients

• 300 ml water;
• 120 g premium flour;
• 1 testicle;
• a pinch of salt;
• 1/2 tsp. dashi powder;
• 1 tbsp. l. soy sauce;
• vegetable oil for frying.

Ingredients for the inside:

• 100 g boiled octopus;
• 50 g cheese;
• 2 tbsp. l. pickled ginger;
• small bunch of green onions

Recipe for making a dish at home

In the Land of the Rising Sun, this pastry is considered ordinary fast food, sold at any corner. To make buns with entrails, they use a special takoyachnitsa - a mold with rounded indentations.

1. Cut the octopus into pieces 1*1 cm.
2. Finely chop the ginger and onion. Grate the cheese. Place everything in different bowls.
3. Pour dashi into warm water and carefully stir the broth. Cool in the refrigerator to low temperature.
4. Beat the egg with soy sauce and salt. Add broth.
5. Add the sifted flour and stir the batter until smooth.
6. Preheat the mold, grease with oil.
7. Fill the indentations almost to the brim with dough. Place the filling.
8. After 2-3 minutes, turn the product over using a special device or a wooden skewer. Walk with a stick along the bottom and walls, carefully prying up the crispy edges.
9. After rotating the takoyaki 90 degrees, add a small amount of batter.
10. Continue baking, turning occasionally. The end result should be golden round buns that look like donuts.

We recommend:

Helpful Tips:

Place the fried takoyaki on plates, pour over thick soy sauce and mayonnaise. Sprinkle with tuna flakes or bonito flakes. For convenience, use two skewers when forming takoyaki until you learn how to do it quickly.

Takoyaki

Ingredients

Chicken egg – 1 pc.

Soy sauce – 2 tbsp.

Baking powder – 1 tsp.

Bouillon cube or dassie powder – 2 g

Octopus – 150 g

Green onion – 30 g

Pickled ginger – 10 g

Thick soy sauce – 1 tbsp.

• 74 kcal
• 40 min.
• 40 min.

Photo of the finished dish

Step-by-step recipe with photos

The most delicious Japanese octopus dish can be prepared quite simply and simply using this recipe. Takoyaki is essentially octopus in a ball of dough. To some extent, takoyaki is Japanese fast food.

The highlight of these balls is that they are cooked in a special electronic frying pan - a takoyaki pan, or in a special form with semicircular recesses, which can be placed on the stove and cooked takoyaki in it. On the streets of cities in the Land of the Rising Sun, you will find a lot of mobile takoyachets, on which the cook, masterfully wielding just a small stick - a knitting needle, prepares the most delicious Japanese delicacy.

Despite the fact that I don’t have any of the takoyaki options listed above, I found a way out of the situation and prepare Japanese takoyaki at home without any problems. How? You will learn about this in the recipe!

As a result, you and I will get this Japanese delicacy!

We will prepare all the products according to the list. The only thing I didn't have was dassie powder, a Japanese dry broth, but I replaced it with a bouillon cube. Otherwise, all products are completely affordable, and you don’t even need a lot of octopus - only 150-200 g.

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the egg, soy sauce, baking powder and a little bouillon cube.

Mix all ingredients well.

Now pour cool water evenly.

Stir the dough well; the consistency of the dough should be even thinner than for pancakes. Place the finished dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Now let's prepare the filling.

Importantly: for this dish you can use either fresh or boiled octopus. Cut the octopus into small pieces. Cut the green onion into small strips, and also cut the ginger into much smaller pieces.

This form turned out to be very useful for making takoyaki. Perhaps, in a special mold, the production of takoyaki occurs more quickly, since the mold is heated constantly and the takoyaki are turned over immediately. I will cook takoyaki in the oven, because in order to turn them over, I will need to remove the pan from the oven. It’s a little troublesome, and my option has the right to be!

Lubricate all recesses with vegetable oil. Fill them 2/3 full with dough.

Now we put a piece of octopus in each cavity.

Next, place pieces of pickled ginger into the molds.

Sprinkle everything generously with green onions. Place the mold in an oven preheated to 200 degrees C for 10 minutes.

During this period of time, the dough will slightly set and can be turned 90 degrees using a knitting needle, toothpick or kebab stick. Fill the resulting space in the mold with dough and put the mold back in the oven for 5 minutes. We take out the form again and perform the same function.

As a result, you will form balls like these. Now all we have to do is bake the takoyaki until golden brown.

Place the finished takoyaki on a dish, pour over very thick soy sauce, sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Takoyaki is an indescribably tasty, fragrant, satisfying dish! Help yourself!

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FAST FOOD ALALALALA.
Hmm.
So here it is. Takoyaki is a Japanese snack that is sold as fast food at various events, festivals and markets. Most of you first saw them in various anime.

Takoyaki translates as fried octopus: tako means octopus, yaki means fry. And to obtain a round shape, special frying pans with bulges, ordinary or electronic, are used.

Well, that's it, now order a new frying pan.
Ahaha, ahaha,” said the fox.

Don't remember anything?
Those who are older still remember that often the donuts were not with a hole, as everyone is accustomed to at the moment, but in the shape of a ball. So those who still have a donut frying pan can rejoice and quietly prepare takoyaki.

Ingredients:
Dough:
– Flour, 100g
– Cool dashi broth, 340ml
– Soy sauce, 1 tsp
– Salt, 1/6 tsp
– Beaten egg, 1 pc

Okonomiyaki sauce:
– Ketchup, 1 tbsp.
– Worcestershire (Worcestershire) sauce, 1 tbsp
– Soy sauce, 1 tsp
– Honey or sugar, 1 tsp

Serving:
– Mayonnaise
– Okonomiyaki sauce
– Bonito (tuna flakes)

Inside:
– Green onions, chopped
– Leftover tempura
– Pickled ginger
– Bonito (tuna flakes)
– .
But I won’t say
because, in principle, whatever your heart desires can go into the filling.
The main thing, of course, is octopus (about 1cm piece per ball), otherwise takoyaki would not be called takoyaki. But in an excellent way, you can put sausage, shrimp, cheese, crab stick, and even kimchi in there. In short, we put whatever we have in the house. But by default we will assume that we have a ready-made octopus. Oh yes, also about dasha broth.
Asian stores sell freeze-dried broth, which lazy housewives consume, but usually the broth is made from an infusion of kombu (this is a seaweed similar to the popular nori, but different. In fact, it is a natural source of glutamate), in which the tuna flakes that have already flashed here are cooked , from time to time with the addition of dried anchovies.
The result is a very light, tasty broth with a sea flavor. But if you’re too lazy to bother, you can go to the nearest Asian store and get instant broth; I literally understand that Nippon sells it by weight.
For the indicated amount (340ml) ±1/2 tsp will be useful. So, now we have all the ingredients, let’s get started!

Recipe:
Let's start with the sauce.
It’s very easy to make – just mix everything! The sauce is made by Dough.
Pour the flour into a bowl, mix with salt, and slowly pour the broth into the flour, stirring from the center to the edges. The broth should be very cool. This is done so that there are as few lumps of flour as possible, and the dough comes out airy and crispy on the outside. Once mixed, pour in the soy sauce and egg, mix again and pour into some container with a spout, for example, into a measuring cup. We put the pan on the fire, grease each hole and the top surface with oil so that nothing sticks.
When the frying pan is hot, pour in the dough to the brim and place a piece of octopus in each future ball. The dough will leak out a little, this is normal. Next, sprinkle with onion, ginger, tuna shavings, and wait a little while until the dough sets one day. Next, we take some thin sticks, skewers, for example, and turn each hemisphere on its side 90 degrees, trying to push all the dough that has flowed past inside the ball. Add more dough into the resulting cavity; don’t worry, it will have time to set. We wait a little longer and turn the ball upside down. Next, just by eye, twist the balls and wait for their surface to become crispy. Once the balls are ready, transfer them to a plate, brush with any sauce, pour over a thin stream of mayonnaise and sprinkle with bonito. The takoyaki is ready!