CC license



Ingredients:

Takoyaki Batter -
  • 1 Egg
  • 340ml Icy Water (1.4  cup)
  • 1/2 tsp Granulated Dashi (1/4 tsp Kombu Dashi & 1/4 tsp Bonito Dashi)
  • 1 tsp Soy Sauce
  • A Pinch of Salt
  • 100g Soft Wheat Flour (3.5 oz)
Additions:
  • 150g Boiled Octopus (5 1/3 oz)
  • 1/2 cup Tenkasu - crunchy bits of deep fried flour-dough
  • 6g Beni Shoga - Pickled Ginger (1/5 oz)
  • 2g Sakuraebi - Dried Pink Baby Shrimps (1/10 oz)
Various toppings
  • Okonomiyaki Sauce
  • Aonori - Green Laver
  • Hanakatsuo - Dried Bonito Flakes
  • 2 Long Green Onions
  • Mayonnaise
Vinegar Sauce:
  1. 150ml Water (0.634 u.s. cup)
  2. 1/2 tsp Granulated Dashi (1/4 tsp Kombu Dashi & 1/4 tsp Bonito Dashi)
  3. 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
  4. 2 tsp Vinegar
  5. Long Green Onion
Method:
  1. Cut the boiled octopus into small pieces about 1 cm (1/2 in). Place aside
  2. Cut the green onions into small slices
  3. Roast the baby shrimp in a dry pan until aromatic.
  4. Turn of the heat and crumble the shrimp to powder when cool enough to handle.
  5. Prepare the Vinegar Sauce:
  6. Bring the water to a boil and add the granulated dashis, the soy sauce and the vinegar whisk until dissolved.
  7. Remove from heat and place aside.
  8. Takoyaki Batter
  9.  Whisk the egg in a bowl
  10. Add the iced water and add both the Kombo Dashi and Bonito Dashi, Soy Sauce and salt.
  11. Mix all these condiments well.
  12. Sieve 1/3 of the flour into the egg mix. Whisk to submerge the flour. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour and finally the remaining. Whisk again to wet the last of the flour and to remove any pockets of flour.
  13. Add the granulated dashis, the soy sauce and the salt. Mix it quickly.
  14. Heat the Takoyaki pan and grease the wells with a little vegetable oil.
  15. Nearly fill each well with the batter.
  16. Add a piece of the octopus
  17. Sprinkle an amount of the shrimp powder, tenkasu and beni-shoga, and sliced green onions to each well.
  18. Top up each well to just over-filled with the batter.
  19. Separate each well by dislodging the cooked run over.
  20. Turn each cup 90o so that the top surface is vertically oriented. The uncooked batter will run into the exposed part of the pan cup.
  21. Cook a little
  22. Again push the content another 90o so that the round bottom is apparent. Allow to cook a bit. The process is to make a complete symmetrical ball of each Takoyaki.
  23. Turn the contents continually until the balls are a nice golden brown over the entire surface.
  24. When cooked remove the Takoyaki from the pan and cook another batch if required.

You can smear each Takonyaki with Okonomiyaki Sauce sauce and sprinkle a little Aonori , dried Bonito flakes and some sliced green onions. Drizzle a little mayonnaise over each.
Serve with the vinegar sauce poured over the remaining green onion in a dish on the table.

Because the process of turning the Takoyaki within the cups is difficult to describe with confidence, I have embedded a You Tube vid of the procedure.