How to Cook Takoyaki?

Takoyaki is Osaka-Japan's favourite street food that has taken the world by storm. From Asia to America and to Europe, the octopus appetizers are sampled and enjoyed by many. I bet you must have at least seen them somewhere if not eaten them.

Although most people love this delicacy, they know not that they can easily make it at home. Note that, making the takoyaki starts with having the right tools like the right pan and ingredients to use. Today we take a look at the takoyaki pans.

Cast Iron Japanese Takoyaki And Dessert Cake Cooking Pan

The traditional design of the takoyaki maker is made using cast iron. This might be because the metal is strong and transfers even heat to your food as you are cooking.

It features a non-stick cooking surface for easy releasing of the takoyaki and easy cleaning. You can use the cast iron takoyaki pan to make your favourite dessert ball pancakes. It features a heavy and solid construction but it is light in weight making it easy to use for your outdoor activities.

It will work on almost all kinds of stovetop so let's get cooking the takoyaki.

What Is Takoyaki Made Of?

As earlier stated, the takoyaki is made using the wheat batter and cooked octopus in the ball. The takoyaki is then served with Aonori seaweeds and dried bonito fish flakes that are sprinkled over the octopus ball.

Its also served with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise. This is just the basic style of making takoyaki. You can have your toppings containing green onions, soy sauce among others. For some regions in Japan like Akashi city, the takoyaki is eaten without the sauce and it's called Take Akashiyaki.

This is to show you that there may be varying ingredients in different regions of Japan. We all, however, enjoy the original takoyaki.

How to cook takoyaki？

What you need

The takoyaki pan

Toothpicks or wooden skewers

2 green onions

2 tbsp of pickled red ginger that is chopped

A tsp. of soy sauce

2 eggs

A cup of all-purpose wheat flour

Baking powder

¼ cup of dried bonito flakes

5 or 6 ounces of cooked octopus either minced or diced into half

2 cups of dashi

Oil

Takoyaki sauce

¼ tsp salt

Japanese mayonnaise

Dried green seaweed

Procedure

1.Slice your green onions and chop/mince the red ginger. Continue to cut your octopus to bitesize pieces.

2.To make the batter, take a clean bowl put your all-purpose flour, eggs, soy sauce, dashi and salt then mix them well using a whisker.

3.Heat your pan to about 400˚F over medium heat then coat the pan with enough oil to avoid sticking. Oil both the holes and the flat places. Watch the pan heating and when you see smoke, pour your batter to fill the pan holes.

4.Next, add three pieces of octopus in each hole followed by green onions and red ginger.

5.Cook it for about a minute or two and then turn it over using chopsticks or a takoyaki turner. This is the tricky part but with practice, you will perfect your skills.

6.Let the balls cook for another 3-4 minutes as you turn side to side. Once it's nicely cooked, transfer it to a clean plate and pour the takoyaki sauce and Japanese sauce on top.

7.Sprinkle the bonito flakes and Aonorithen serve hot.