Takoyaki

Takoyaki is a Japanese street food cooked with a wheat batter filled with chopped seafood (typically octopus) in a special, round ball-shaped pan. Frequently eaten at street festivals in Japan, their popularity has since spread around the globe.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

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The Thrifty Dinner Club

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

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episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

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Ingredients

• 1 medium octopus (about 800 g, but this will leave extra octopus for other purposes)
• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage
• ¼ cup oil (60 ml), for greasing the pan
• 1 cup tenkasu (tempura batter bits, available at Asian grocers)
• ¼ cup benishouga (red-pickled ginger), finely chopped
• ½ cup thinly sliced spring onions
• 1 cup Otafuku sauce, to serve
• 1 cup Japanese mayonnaise, to serve
• 2 tbsp aonori (dried bright green laver), to serve
• Bonito flakes, to serve

For the batter

• 250 g plain flour
• 1 litre dashi (made with instant dashi), or water
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ tsp soy sauce
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Remove the hood and beak of the octopus, so that just the tentacles remain. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a simmer, then slowly lower the octopus in (the legs should curl as the octopus is being lowered). Simmer for 30 - 45 minutes, or until cooked through and tender, but not falling apart. The amount of time you cook the octopus will depend on the size of your octopus. Remove the octopus from the water and allow to cool slightly. Cut the octopus into 1.5 cm cubes until you have around 50 cubes. Reserve any extra cooked octopus for another recipe.
   
2. To make the takoyaki batter, combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, whisking to a thin batter. Stir through the cabbage.
   
3. Before cooking, arrange the batter, prepared octopus and toppings near your takoyaki pan so they are within easy reach during the cooking process. Heat the takoyaki grill (or ableskiver pan) until it is hot. Brush with oil, then ladle in the batter, completely filling the holes in the pan as well as the surrounds. Drop a cube of octopus into each hole and scatter the whole of the pan liberally with tenkasu, benishouga and sliced spring onion.
   
4. As the batter starts to firm up, use a bamboo skewer to draw lines between each takoyaki ball, as if marking out a grid. Insert the skewer to the base of each takoyaki and roll over the ball to create a sphere (it’s easier than it sounds). Cook for a further 5 minutes or so, rolling the balls over occasionally, until they are cooked through and crisp on the outside. Repeat until you have used up all the takoyaki batter and octopus.
   
5. Remove the takoyaki to a serving plate. Drizzle liberally with Otafuku sauce and mayonnaise, and scatter over the aonori and bonito flakes. Serve while hot.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

The Thrifty Dinner Club

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G