Takoyaki

0 Takoyaki

Feb 20

These molten balls of goodness were always a mystery to me eating them growing up but now I consider myself pretty good Takoyaki maker. These hail from the streets of Osaka Japan and come in a variety of combination of flavors but for this recipe we will make the classic with the squid . You need a Takoyaki pan which you can order on line or if lucky your local Japanese store might sell them about 20-30 dollars. The pan is good for other Japanese treats and some European desserts so it’s a good investment. Here we go….

On 20/02/2011 (Sunday) at 12:17 am by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → https://tinyurl.com/2yz3godw

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Details

Prep Time:
30 min
Cook Time:
15 min
Ready Time:
45 min

Servings

6 servings

Ingredients

Takoyaki Batter:

300g / 10.5 oz cake flour (preferred) or all-purpose flour
3 eggs
4 1/4 cups of ice water, with the cubes strained out before adding to the mix
2/3 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. kombu dashi stock granules
1/2 tsp. katsuo dashi stock granules
½ teaspoon baking powder

The filling:

2 cups chopped scallions
1 cup chopped pickled ginger
One cup of tempura scraps
One cooked octopus leg cut into peanut size pieces making sure to get some of the tentacle for texture

Garnish:

Japanese bonito flakes
Pickled ginger
Chopped scallions
Japanese mayo
Okonomiyaki or ‘Bulldog’ sauce, the conventional dipping sauce. You can mix this with mayonnaise for added richness. Sauce taste sweet with a slight floral nutmeg flavor.) You can also use A1 steak sauce and mix it with a bit of mayo there are no rules here experiment!
Non flavored oil like peanut or canola for cooking

Directions

Step by Step method follow the pictures on flickr in the series if you need illustration.

Heat up the pan before starting.
Oil the little sections (I use a dedicated oiling brush, but you can use a wadded up paper towel or a wad of cotton wool held with chopsticks. Be sure to oil the top of the pan too.)

Pour in the batter - don’t worry if it overflows a bit. You don’t need to fill all the compartments.
If you are just starting out, try about 8 or 10. For some reason, all Japanese takoyaki makers have 18 compartments.)

As soon as the batter is poured, drop in the octopus bits, one per compartment. Now add a handful of the scallions, ginger and tempura bits covering evenly. Now add some more batter to cover the exposed areas of the pan.

When the outsides are sort of dried out, cut through the connected bits (where the batter ran out) and turn them over about 90 degrees with the wooden skewer or takoyaki metal skewer. If you turn them too early the takoyaki will collapse and turn into a sad, ragged lump of goo.
It takes a bit of practice to gauge when to turn the balls over, but you soon get the hang of it.

Turn the balls over all the way after a few min they should turn on their own don’t force them or they will tear and they will be no good.. Keep flipping then round and round with the skewer.

The takoyaki are done with they feel lighter when you poke and turn them with the skewer, and are lightly browned a bit crispy on the outside.

The key is for the takoyaki to be hollow on the inside. This allows the insides to steam, which cooks them nicely while retaining a creamy texture.

Now serve six per person is nice or all on a plate for a party.
Garnish with the bulldog sauce, mayo and more ginger and scallion if you prefer it is really up to you classic would be ginger and bonito flakes.
Once you make these you will never buy them frozen ever again and you will find that take out order by the time it gets to home has lost its luster so this is the way to go.

Enjoy!

Benny

Step by step in photos here >>

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About Benny

Passion for healthy amazing food. I am on crusade to get kids eat better and people in general learning how to cook for themselves. If I here that McDonald's is cheaper than eating homemade I will prove anyone wrong.