Snack · Griddled

Takoyaki (Octopus Balls)

Name: Takoyaki recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 3–4 (about 24 balls) servings
Ingredients: 1 cup (120 g) plain flour; 2 cups (480 ml) cold dashi (instant dashi dissolved in water is fine); 1 egg; ½ teaspoon soy sauce, a pinch of salt; 150 g boiled octopus (usually sold pre-cooked), cut into 1.5 cm pieces; 3 tablespoons tenkasu (tempura crumbs), 2 tablespoons pickled red ginger (beni shoga), 3 spring onions, finely chopped; Oil for the pan; To top: takoyaki sauce (or a thick Worcestershire-style sauce), Japanese mayonnaise, aonori (green seaweed flakes), bonito flakes

Takoyaki (Octopus Balls) — street food from Japan

Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

Cooked in a pan with dozens of half-sphere molds, flipped with metal picks.

Batter balls filled with diced octopus, cooked in a special molded pan and flipped repeatedly until golden, topped with takoyaki sauce, mayo, and dancing bonito flakes.

Why it's made this way: Osaka's street food culture prizes showmanship — the flipping technique itself became part of the entertainment, not just the cooking.

What is Takoyaki?

Takoyaki are round, golden balls of wheat batter with a piece of octopus in the middle, cooked in a special pan with half-spherical moulds. They are crisp on the outside, creamy inside, and served hot with takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, green seaweed flakes and bonito flakes that seem to dance in the steam.

They are most closely associated with Osaka, where vendors turn them with two picks in a flashing, almost theatrical routine.

How to make takoyaki

Serves 3–4 (about 24 balls) · prep 25 min · cook 20 min

Ingredients

1 cup (120 g) plain flour
2 cups (480 ml) cold dashi (instant dashi dissolved in water is fine)
1 egg
½ teaspoon soy sauce, a pinch of salt
150 g boiled octopus (usually sold pre-cooked), cut into 1.5 cm pieces
3 tablespoons tenkasu (tempura crumbs), 2 tablespoons pickled red ginger (beni shoga), 3 spring onions, finely chopped
Oil for the pan
To top: takoyaki sauce (or a thick Worcestershire-style sauce), Japanese mayonnaise, aonori (green seaweed flakes), bonito flakes

Method

Whisk the flour, dashi, egg, soy sauce and salt into a thin batter. It should be quite runny, like thin pancake batter. Rest it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Heat a takoyaki pan over medium-high heat and brush each mould generously with oil.
Pour the batter into the moulds until it overflows, filling the channels between them as well.
Drop a piece of octopus into each mould, then sprinkle with tenkasu, red ginger and spring onion.
When the edges begin to set (about 2 minutes), use two picks to cut the batter in the channels and push it into the moulds. Turn each ball 90 degrees, tucking in the extra batter to form a sphere.
Keep turning every minute or so for 8–10 minutes, until each ball is round, browned all over and crisp on the outside.
Serve hot, topped with sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes.

Tips

A takoyaki pan is needed for true round balls. Without one, a Danish aebleskiver pan is the nearest substitute.
Overfill the moulds, then use the extra batter to wrap each ball as you turn it.
Let the balls set before you turn them, or they will tear.
They are very hot inside. Let them cool for a minute before you eat.

Regional versions

Some vendors serve them with ponzu or soy sauce instead of the sauce and mayonnaise. In Akashi, a related dish called akashiyaki is dipped in dashi.
Other fillings include cheese, mochi or sausage in place of the octopus.
Osaka households often own a takoyaki plate to make them at home.