Takoyaki are ball-shaped Japanese snacks from Osaka. A wheat flour batter is poured into a moulded pan, filled with diced octopus, tempura scraps and green onion, then turned until round and golden. They are topped with sauce and served piping hot from street stalls.
Our first snack in Osaka
It was also the first snack we ate in Osaka, in a cool little place where we could fry them ourselves at the table, using chopsticks to turn the little balls around - surprisingly easy! It already tells you something about the city: you arrive, you get hungry, and a stall is already frying. That's how we like it!
What is takoyaki?
Takoyaki is the round street snack of Osaka, and one of the best-known Japanese street food dishes. The name joins two words: tako, which means octopus, and yaki, which describes grilling or frying. The balls are cooked in a special pan with half-spherical moulds, which is the only reason they come out round and not flat like a pancake.
The texture is the whole point. The shell is thin and crisp, the middle is soft and almost molten, and in the centre sits one piece of octopus that is still firm enough to bite. It is served in a small paper boat with a pick, and it is served hot. Very hot. Takoyaki does not care that you are hungry, so the one rule every cook learns is to wait one minute before the first bite.
What is inside a takoyaki ball
The classic filling is simple and always the same few things. A thin batter of wheat flour, egg and dashi (a light Japanese stock) forms the ball. Into each mould goes a piece of diced octopus, a spoonful of tempura scraps (tenkasu), chopped green onion and usually a little pickled red ginger.
The tempura scraps are the quiet hero. They are small crisp pieces of fried batter that soften in the hot mix and give the middle a rich, savoury body. The green onion adds a fresh, sharp note, and the pickled ginger cuts through the fried batter.
The toppings come after cooking: a thick, sweet and savoury takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, seaweed (aonori) and thin shavings of dried bonito (katsuobushi). The bonito flakes are so light that they sway and curl in the steam rising off the balls. The sauce is sweet and sharp, the mayonnaise is creamy, the bonito smells smoky, and the middle is still hot and creamy.
We came home wanting to cook it in Belgium, so this is the version we make: a proper takoyaki recipe for our kitchen at home.
How takoyaki became Osaka's favourite snack
Takoyaki started as a street food, and it stayed one. A street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with inventing it in Osaka in 1935. At that time Osaka already had cheap flour snacks such as choboyaki and radioyaki, which held pieces of beef, konjac or other fillings. Nearby in Akashi, in Hyogo Prefecture, there was a snack of egg-rich batter with octopus, later named akashiyaki. Endo combined the two ideas and sold the result as takoyaki.
The snack then spread through Osaka, with stalls making their own improvements. After the Pacific War, the style of eating takoyaki with sauce and mayonnaise became the standard. Here is a detail we like: Endo's shop, Aizuya, still exists and still serves the original takoyaki without sauce or mayonnaise.
Ingredients
Makes about 32 takoyaki. You need a takoyaki pan with half-spherical moulds, which you can use on a hob or as an electric plate, and two thin bamboo or metal picks for turning.
For the batter:
- 150 g plain flour
- 500 ml cold dashi
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
For the filling:
- 150 g cooked octopus tentacle, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
- 60 g tempura scraps (tenkasu)
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 40 g pickled red ginger, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp neutral oil (45 ml), for the pan
For the topping:
- 80 ml takoyaki sauce
- 60 g Japanese mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp aonori (green laver)
- 10 g bonito flakes
- 1/2 tsp Umami Tsunami, at the very end
Method
- Whisk the flour, dashi, egg, soy sauce and salt in a jug until completely smooth. The batter is thin, closer to single cream than to pancake batter. Rest it for 10 minutes.
- Heat the takoyaki pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Brush every mould, and the flat surface between them, generously with oil.
- Pour in the batter until every mould is full and a little batter spills onto the flat surface. It should sizzle at once.
- Drop one piece of octopus into each mould. Scatter over the tempura scraps, spring onion and pickled ginger.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges look set. With the two picks, push the spilled batter from between the moulds into each hole, then turn each ball a quarter turn so the raw batter flows down into the mould.
- Keep turning for 5 to 6 minutes, rotating each ball in the mould as it firms, until the balls are round, deep golden and crisp all over. Lower the heat if they colour before the middle is set.
- Lift the balls onto a plate or paper tray, six to eight per portion. Oil the pan again and cook the second batch the same way.
- Top while hot: zigzag the sauce over, add thin lines of mayonnaise, then the aonori and bonito flakes. Finish with a small pinch of Umami Tsunami over the top, then wait one minute before you eat.
Chef's Tip
Look for colour and sound, not the clock. A ready takoyaki is deep golden brown on every side and gives a light crisp tap when you touch it with the pick. Slide the balls into a paper boat straight from the pan, sauce them in a tight zigzag, then add the bonito flakes last so they curl and move in the steam.
A finishing pinch: Umami Tsunami
Umami Tsunami is a suggested pairing, not a traditional takoyaki topping, and it does not replace aonori. It is a salt mix hand-blended in Belgium by our chefs Chloë and Dax, made of seaweed, wakame, gochugaru, sesame seeds, wasabi and salt. It tastes of the sea with a sharp edge from the wasabi.
A pinch goes on at the very end, on the hot takoyaki just before you eat, so the seaweed and sesame stay fresh and crunchy against the sauce. Keep the pinch small, because the sauce already carries salt. If you like the idea of seaweed and sesame on a hot snack, our Vietnamese spring rolls with pork, prawns and Umami Tsunami use the same jar in a very different way. Add Umami Tsunami to your basket, then fry your first batch of takoyaki this weekend.
FAQ
What is takoyaki made of?
A thin batter of wheat flour, egg and dashi, filled with diced octopus, tempura scraps, green onion and often pickled red ginger. After cooking it is topped with takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes. That is the whole list, and each part has a job.
Why is takoyaki from Osaka?
A street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with inventing takoyaki in Osaka in 1935. Osaka already had cheap flour snacks sold from stalls, and he combined that tradition with the octopus-and-batter snack from Akashi. The city has been proud of it ever since.
What does takoyaki taste like?
The shell is crisp and the middle is soft, savoury and creamy, with a chewy piece of octopus in the centre. The sauce brings sweet and sharp notes, the mayonnaise adds richness and the bonito flakes smell smoky. The green onion keeps it fresh.
Is there really octopus in takoyaki?
Yes, the name says it: tako means octopus. Each ball holds one piece of diced octopus, and it should be cooked before it goes in the pan. You can also buy cooked octopus tentacle from a fishmonger or an Asian supermarket.
What is takoyaki sauce?
It is a thick, brown sauce that is sweet and savoury, brushed or drizzled over the hot balls. You can buy it in a bottle at Asian supermarkets but it is also super easy to make at home. It is usually paired with Japanese mayonnaise.
Do I need a special pan to make takoyaki?
Yes, for the round shape. The moulded takoyaki pan, with its half-spherical holes, is what lets you turn the batter into a ball. In a flat frying pan you will get flat pancakes, which taste good as well though!
