Takoyaki (Japanese Octopus Balls)

Name: Takoyaki (Japanese Octopus Balls)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 250 g all-purpose flour; 500 ml dashi stock; 1 piece large egg; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 tsp soy sauce; 200 g cooked octopus (tako); 60 g tenkasu (tempura scraps); 30 g beni shoga (pickled red ginger); 3 stalk green onions; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 60 ml takoyaki sauce; 60 ml Japanese mayonnaise; 2 tbsp aonori (dried seaweed); 10 g katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

Crisp-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside savory batter balls filled with tender cooked octopus, pickled ginger and green onion — a classic Japanese street snack best served hot with takoyaki sauce, mayo, aonori and bonito flakes.

AI image

40 min

start to finish

20 min

hands on

Some skill

difficulty

servings

4 servings

Ingredients

For the batter

250 g all-purpose flour
500 ml dashi stockUse instant dashi powder dissolved in water or make quick kombu/katsuobushi dashi
1 piece large egglightly beaten
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce

For the filling

200 g cooked octopus (tako)cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces; substitute cooked shrimp or squid if desired
60 g tenkasu (tempura scraps)or 1/2 cup panko for crunch
30 g beni shoga (pickled red ginger)finely chopped
3 stalk green onionsthinly sliced

For cooking

2 tbsp neutral oilvegetable or canola oil

For the toppings

60 ml takoyaki saucestore-bought okonomiyaki/takoyaki sauce or quick mix: 3 tbsp ketchup + 1 tbsp Worcestershire + 1 tsp soy
60 ml Japanese mayonnaise
2 tbsp aonori (dried seaweed)
10 g katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

Contains gluten, egg, soy, fish, shellfish. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

420 kcal20g protein46g carbs18g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

Make or warm the dashi: dissolve instant dashi powder in 500 ml water and bring just to a simmer, then remove from heat.
Measure the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the salt; whisk briefly to combine.
Add the beaten egg, soy sauce and 500 ml warm dashi to the flour and whisk until a smooth, fairly loose batter forms.
Let the batter rest at room temperature for 15 minutes to hydrate the flour.
A rested batter makes lighter takoyaki; if short on time you can proceed after 5 minutes.
Dice the cooked octopus into roughly 1/2-inch pieces.
Thinly slice the green onions.
Chop the pickled ginger (beni shoga) into small pieces if not already chopped.
Heat a takoyaki pan (or an aebleskiver/ebelskiver pan or a well-oiled mini muffin pan) over medium-high heat and brush each well with oil.
Pan should be hot enough that a drop of water sizzles instantly.
Pour batter into each well until nearly full.
Drop one piece of octopus into each well, then add a pinch of tenkasu, a little pickled ginger and some green onion to each.
Cook until the edges begin to set and the underside is lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Use a takoyaki pick or skewer to lift and turn each piece 90 degrees so uncooked batter flows out and the ball begins to form.
Turn quickly and confidently—takoyaki are made by repeatedly turning to round them.
Continue rotating the takoyaki in the wells every 1 minute or so until they are evenly browned and cooked through, about 3–4 more minutes.
Transfer the cooked takoyaki to a plate and immediately brush or drizzle with takoyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise, then sprinkle with aonori and finish with katsuobushi.

Worth knowing

If you don't have a takoyaki pan: an aebleskiver pan gives similar results; a mini muffin pan works but you won't be able to rotate the balls and the texture differs.
Keep the pan well oiled between batches so takoyaki release cleanly.
For a quick takoyaki sauce, mix 3 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp soy sauce and heat briefly.
Batter consistency should be thinner than pancake batter; add a splash more dashi if it feels too thick.
Leftover takoyaki are best reheated in a skillet, not the microwave, to regain some crispness.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

Kid friendly

More Japanese cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Japanese cooking, not any restaurant's recipe.