04/15 Dinner: Takoyaki

Here's a treat we haven't had in a while: takoyaki (octopus dumplings). Another treat: my husband made them, not me. He doesn't cook often and he hasn't done takoyaki in ages, but as an Osaka native he takes special pride in his takoyaki-making technique (the snack originates in his city).

His pride is justified, and I consider these to be the best takoyaki I've had outside of Kansai. Takoyaki are fairly hard to make well, and Tokyoites tend to do a poor job, even takiyaki vendors. The snack is commonly sold from street vendors and small shops as a street food throughout Japan, but it's mostly people from Osaka who make takoyaki at home and eat it not as a snack, but as a meal.

If there were a test to measure how authentically Osakan a person was, it would be to check their cupboards for a takoyaki-ki (takoyaki grill). And of course my husband has one, although it's just a tiny grill and needs to be used with a konro (tabletop gas grill. Most often a takoyaki-ki is a complete tabletop takoyaki maker.

To make takoyaki, a thin batter of flour, baking powder, eggs and water is poured onto a hot takoyaki grill, made of cast iron and characterized by a pattern of half-spherical indentations. Then ingredients like sakura-ebi (tiny dried shrimp), tenkasu (little balls of deep-fried batter leftover from making tempura), benishoga (pickled ginger) and negi (green onion) are sprinkled over the griddle, and in each indentation a single piece of tako (octopus) is placed.

You let this cook for a while, and then with a thin metal pick you push all the half-cooked batter from the flat part of the grill into the indentations, then scoop under each indentation to turn around the dumplings. They will have puffed up and after being turned should be perfectly spherical.

After cooking a bit more, they are transferred to a plate and eaten topped with a special takoyaki sauce (like a lighter, sweeter HP sauce) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). It's also good to add aonori (nori seaweed flakes) if you've got it, and some people like to use mayonnaise as well (yuck-- not us).

We didn't need so many toppings, as the takoyaki itself was delicious. Crispy on the outside, soft, puffy and a tiny bit runny on the inside. Even better- when he put a tiny chunk of white cheddar inside each dumpling. Especially if the cheese melted too fast and seeped to the outside of the dumpling and got a bit burnt and made the takoyaki crust extra crispy. Mmmmm, crispy burnt cheddar...

Our takoyaki grill makes very small takoyaki (the usual dumplings are almost double in size) so it was a lot of work to make a meal- I think he made 63 of them! I was stuffed by the 40th, but that crispy melted cheese was irresistible and I just couldn't stop until the batter was all used up.

Thanks for all the hard work, honey! I hope you make this again soon.

Comments

[David]

Looks good! We had takoyaki gratin last night after the hockey game. Takoyaki in a cheese and mushroom sauce topped with a layer of melted mozzarella, and of course okonomi sauce. I expected the octopus to be tougher and the takoyaki to be smaller for some reason, but I know what I'll have the next time I go to that restaurant.

[carlyn]

Amy;
OH MY GOSH!!!!! As I've mentioned before, I LOVE takoyaki and Hideaki's look superb!!! OHHHHHH YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! I could almost smell them..... How lucky are You???!!!!!!!!!

[TM]

They look great, and yum about the cheese! He made 63 of them??!! Wow! You are definitely very lucky!

[gq]

Oh that looks so good! I love takoyaki. I tried to have it when I was in Osaka for a day but I think I got confused or confused the people at the restaurant and got okonomayaki instead. But I really like that too so it did not matter!

I have been reading your blog for a while now. Its great - love all the food!

[Amy]

Thanks! I really am lucky, aren't I!
63 seems like a lot, but these are really tiny. We've got to get a better grill.

Takoyaki gratin sounds interesting. If we ever have leftovers, that's what we'll do with them.

Thanks for reading Gq! Osaka's okonomiyaki can't be beat, so you made a good mistake!