[Japanese Recipes] Quick and Easy Takoyaki

Enjoy this Quick and Easy Takoyaki Recipe you can cook in minutes with just one chopstick. Made with a takoyaki pan and topped with homemade takoyaki sauce, kewpie mayonnaise, aonori and katsuoboshi.

It’s also a fun way it’s a great way to get creative in the kitchen and try your hand at mastering the takoyaki cooking technique.

What is Takoyaki?

Takoyaki is one of the most popular street snacks in Japan, aside from onigiri rice balls. Little roadside stalls can be found everywhere, ready to serve up a batch of takoyaki when you need it most. But for the freshest, tastiest takoyaki, the best thing to do is to make it yourself.
What are the main Takoyaki Ingredients?
Batter: It’s is a surprisingly simple mix of plain flour with a hint of dashi stock. But according to Masa-san, the secret to that golden crispy crunch is to add cornflour (aka corn starch) to the mixture.
Fillings: Traditional takoyaki ingredients include octopus (the ‘tako’ in takoyaki), spring onion, pickled ginger and tenkasu (crispy fried tempura batter)..

How to Make Takoyaki

Slice the octopus (or chicken, if substituting) into bite-size pieces then pop aside.
Combine the plain flour and cornflour in a bowl, then in a separate bowl whisk the egg. Add the egg to the dry mixture, then slowly pour in the dashi stock or water and whisk it all together. You’re aiming for a thin, runny consistency here, so if it’s too thick just add more water or dashi.

Now, heat the takoyaki pan over a medium high heat and brush oil over the entire surface. Pour the batter into the centre of the pan and keep pouring until all the wells are full and the batter covers the entire plate.

Place one piece of octopus or chicken into each well, then scatter the spring onion, ginger and tempura crumbs across the lot. When the bottom of the batter starts turning crispy, use a chopstick to cut out a square shape around each takoyaki well.
Next comes Masa’s fancy technique. Move your chopstick in an ‘L’ shape around the each well, then immediately push down into the well to flip the batter, forming a rough ball shape as you go. It might take a few tries, but keep going and you’ll quickly get the hang of it.


Continue flipping each ball occasionally as the batter becomes crispy and golden brown on all sides. The easiest way to do this is to pierce the takoyaki ball with the chopstick and pull upwards to flip. A few more rotations and your batch of takoyaki will be glorious, crispy and golden.
Pop your cooked takoyaki onto serving platters and top with your favourite topping combinations (see topping inpso in the next section). Feel free to experiment and let us know how you go!

Which takoyaki ingredients do you love? What’s your favourite combo?

(Spoiler alert: They’re ALL AMAZING!)

Recipe Tips
For a crunchier texture and deep golden colour, add extra oil while flipping the takoyaki.

Japanese ingredients such as dashi stock, aonori flakes, bonito flakes tenkasu and takoyaki sauce can be found at your local Asian grocery store or online via Amazon.

You can easily make tenkasu (crispy tempura rumbs) at home, simply splatter some tempura batter in hot oil and cook until crispy. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on paper towel.

Equipment
▢ Cast Iron Takoyaki Pan
▢ Electric Takoyaki Pan
▢ Takoyaki Pick

Ingredients

For the batter
▢ 450 ml dashi powder
▢ 140 g plain flour
▢ 10 g cornflour or cornstarch
▢ 1 tbsp milk
▢ 1 egg
▢ 100-140 g octopus pieces chopped into 2cm pieces (or substitute with chicken, ham, bacon or cheese)
▢ 1/2 cup spring onion / green onion chopped
▢ 1/4 pickled ginger chopped
▢ 1/2 cup tenkasu crispy tempura crumbs

For the toppings
▢ Takoyaki Sauce or okonomiyaki sauce
▢ Mayonnaise we recommend kewpie mayo for the most traditional flavour
▢ seaweed flakes / aonori dried green seaweed powder
▢ Katsuoboshi dried bonito flakes
▢ Salt
▢ Parmesan
▢ Curry powder
▢ Cheese


Instructions

1. Slice the octopus (or other protein, if substituting) into bite-size pieces then pop aside.
2. Combine the plain flour and cornflour in a bowl, then in a separate bowl whisk the egg. 3. 3. Add the egg to the dry mixture, then slowly pour in the dashi stock or water and whisk it all together. You're aiming for a thin, runny consistency here, so if it's too thick just add more water or dashi.
4. Now, heat the takoyaki pan over a medium high heat and brush oil over the entire surface. Pour the batter into the centre of the pan and keep pouring until all the wells are full and the batter covers the entire plate.
5. Place one piece of octopus or chicken into each well, then scatter the spring onion, ginger and tempura crumbs across the lot. When the bottom of the batter starts turning crispy, use a chopstick to cut out a square shape around each takoyaki well.
6. Next comes Masa's fancy technique. Move your chopstick in an 'L' shape around the each well, then immediately push down into the well to flip the batter, forming a rough ball shape as you go. It might take a few tries, but keep going and you'll quickly get the hang of it.
7. Continue flipping each ball occasionally as the batter becomes crispy and golden brow6n on all sides. The easiest way to do this is to pierce the takoyaki ball with the chopstick and pull upwards to flip.

For The Toppings:

1. Pop your cooked takoyaki onto serving platters and top with your favourite topping combinations. Feel free to experiment and let us know how you go.

Classic: Top with bbq sauce (or takoyaki or okonomiyaki sauce) in a zigzag pattern. Dust with aonori powder and katsuoboshi (bonito flakes).
Hyuga Style: Top with mayo, aonori and a sprinkling of salt.
Masa-san's Recommendation: Top with parmesan, salt and a light dusting of curry powder.
Wandercooks style: Sprinkle with your very own homemade matcha green tea salt.
Cheesy Goodness: Sprinkle on top and broil for a couple of minutes until melty and delicious.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Wandercooks.com/. Thanks so much!