Takoyaki

Ingredients

• 1 whole octopus (250g)
• salt
• 1/4 bunch spring onions
• 150g red pickled ginger
• 500g plain flour or takoyaki flour
• 1.6 to 1.8 litres water
• 3 teaspoons / 12 grams dashi powder
• 2 tablespoons/ 19g yam potato powder
• 2 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 6 eggs
• tenkasu (tempura balls), optional*
• cooking oil

To serve

• Japanese mayonnaise
• otafuku sauce, okonomiyaki sauce
• aonori seaweed
• bonito flakes

Method

Massage salt into the octopus skin. Wash off the salt. Use a large saucepan to boil lightly salted water. Blanch the octopus for approximately 2 minutes. Allow to cool.

Cut into small chickpea-sized pieces. Chop the spring onions finely. Strain and chop the red ginger.

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, add the water and soy sauce. Add eggs. Mix all of the lumps out. Allow to sit overnight or 4 hours minimum.

Heat the octopus ball pan. Oil lightly. Pour the batter to cover the holes. Place 2 pieces of octopus in each hole and add chopped ginger, spring onion and tempura balls evenly over the top. Cook for a minute or two.

When a base has formed begin to rotate with a bamboo skewer. Add more oil and butter as required to form a complete ball. Keep rotating the takoyaki until evenly brown and cooked through.

Serve immediately with sauce and toppings.

*Tenkasu (tempura balls) are crunch bits of deep fried flour – batter. They can be purchased in Asian grocery stores. They are often used in soba, udon, takoyaki and okinomiyaki.

Note: this recipe was demonstrated in Ai's class 'Street Food of Osaka', February 2020.

Image is indicative only and does not reflect the exact ingredients in the recipe.