Takoyaki Octopus Balls (Printable view)
Savory golden Japanese street food balls with octopus, crispy tempura bits, and tangy toppings.
# What You'll Need:
→ Batter
01 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 2 cups dashi stock
04 - 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
→ Filling
06 - 4 ounces cooked octopus, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
07 - 1/4 cup tenkasu (tempura scraps)
08 - 2 tablespoons pickled red ginger, finely chopped
09 - 2 green onions, finely sliced
→ Toppings
10 - Takoyaki sauce
11 - Japanese mayonnaise
12 - Aonori (dried seaweed flakes)
13 - Katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
# Steps:
01 - Whisk together flour, eggs, dashi stock, soy sauce, and salt in a mixing bowl until smooth and thin. Set aside.
02 - Preheat takoyaki pan over medium heat and lightly oil each well.
03 - Pour batter into each well, filling to the top.
04 - Place a piece of octopus, tenkasu, pickled ginger, and green onion into each well.
05 - Cook for 1-2 minutes until edges begin to set.
06 - Use skewers or chopsticks to turn each ball 90 degrees, allowing uncooked batter to flow out and form round shapes.
07 - Continue turning every 1-2 minutes until balls are golden and crisp on all sides, approximately 8-10 minutes total cooking time.
08 - Remove from pan and serve hot. Drizzle with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkle with aonori and katsuobushi.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Crispy outside, impossibly creamy inside like magic you can taste
- The kind of food that makes people gather around the stove asking when they can eat
- Street food authenticity you can recreate in your own kitchen
02 -
- The batter must be thin like crepe batter or they will be dense and doughy
- Turning takes practice and your first few attempts will look messy
- Hot takoyaki continues cooking inside, so slightly underdone is better than overdone
03 -
- Keep a small bowl of water nearby to clean your skewers between turns
- The bonito flakes should be added last so they dance in the residual heat