Takoyaki (Octopus Balls)
Crispy outside, molten inside — the undisputed king of Japanese festival food.
Ingredients
| 1 cup (120g) | all-purpose flour | |
| 2 cups (480ml) | dashi stock | |
| 2 | eggs | |
| 1 tablespoon | 15 ml | soy sauce |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | baking powder |
| 5 oz (140g) | cooked octopus, cut into 3/4-inch (2cm) pieces | |
| 1/4 cup (30g) | finely chopped green onion | |
| 1/4 cup (20g) | tenkasu (tempura scraps) | |
| 2 tablespoons | 30 ml | pickled red ginger, finely chopped |
| — | vegetable oil for greasing |
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, dashi, eggs, soy sauce, and baking powder until smooth with no lumps.
- Heat a takoyaki pan over medium-high heat and brush each cavity generously with oil.
- Pour batter into each cavity until slightly overflowing. Drop one piece of octopus, a pinch of green onion, a few tenkasu, and a little red ginger into each cavity.
- When the edges begin to set and turn golden, about 2 minutes, use a skewer to rotate each ball 90 degrees.
- Continue rotating until the balls are fully round and golden brown on all sides, about 4 more minutes.
- Serve immediately topped with takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, bonito flakes, and aonori.