Takoyaki “octopus balls” are one of my favourite Japanese street food items. They originated from Osaka, Japan. Classic ingredients involve octopus, scallion, and ginger. For this recipe, I’ve modified it slightly by adding my favourite toppings: octopus, imitation crab meat, scallion. We then finish it with Japanese Kewpie mayo, homemade Takoyaki sauce, scallion, nori, and bonito flakes. Super delicious and easy to make at home!
What is a Takoyaki?
Takoyaki is a famous Japanese street food item that originated from Osaka, Japan. Takoyaki is usually sold by street vendors, supermarkets, and restaurants in Japan. As it originated in Osaka, there are famous street vendors there that sell world-class takoyaki. “Tako” means octopus and “yaki” means “fried”. It is a fried octopus ball-shaped snack made of wheat-based flour and cooked in a specially molded pan. You can purchase the pan linked here. It is typically filled with diced octopus, scallion, and ginger. Then topped with Japanese Kewpie mayo, Takoyaki sauce, scallion, nori, and bonito flakes (katsuobushi).
Takoyaki Equipment
To make Takoyaki at home here are the key equipment you will require:
- Measuring Cup
- 2 wooden skewers
- Whisk
- Silicone Brush
- Takoyaki Pan or Cake Pop Maker.
Takoyaki Ingredients
- Takoyaki Batter
We’ll be making a wheat-based flour dough with flour, baking powder, dashi broth powder, sugar, soy sauce, water, and salt. We add baking powder to allow the ball to “puff” up nicely. Dashi broth powder is iconic to this mix and is a key ingredient in providing the important flavour profile. You can also buy pre-mixes from your local grocery store. This is my favourite brand here. - Octopus
I bought frozen octopus from my local Asian grocery market. You can buy fresh if you’d like. I bought about 2 lbs and diced them up finely. - Imitation Crab Meat
Imitation crab meat is not authentic to takoyaki but I’ve found it to provide great flavour. I bought frozen imitation crab meat from my local grocery store, thawed it and chopped into small pieces. - Scallion
Scallion is a key ingredient in takoyaki. We not only put it in the batter but we also use it as a topping afterwards to provide great “bite”. - Japanese Kewpie Mayo
We top our finished takoyaki with some Japanese Kewpie mayo for creaminess. This is iconic to this dish. - Takoyaki Sauce
Takoyaki sauce is made with simple condiments: ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. If you don’t want tp make it, you can purchase it here. - Seaweed (nori)
For extra “crunch” we top takoyaki with sliced seaweed. Provides extra umami and flavour to this dish. - Bonito Flakes
This is the iconic topping bonito flakes. Bonito flakes comes from shaving fermented tuna (katsuobushi). This is my favourite brand.
Takoyaki "Octopus Balls" | Japanese Street Food
Equipment
- Takoyaki Pan
- 2 Wooden Skewers
- Silicone brush
- Measuring Cup
- Whisk
Ingredients
Takoyaki Batter
- 2 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp dashi stock powder
- 1 tsp sugar
Takoyaki Toppings
- 100g octopus, diced/minced into small pieces (1/2 cm)
- 3-4 bunches scallion, diced
- 3-4 sticks imitation crab meat, diced
- Japanese Kewpie mayo
- Takoyaki sauce
- dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
- 1 package seaweed (nori), cut into thin long pieces
Takoyaki Sauce
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Prepare the takoyaki topping ingredients: octopus, scallion, imitation crab meat. Set aside.
Takoyaki Sauce
- Using a small bowl, mix together ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar until smooth. Pour into a squeeze bottle if desired. Set aside.
Takoyaki Batter
- In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, water, flour, salt, soy sauce, baking powder, dashi stock powder, and sugar. Mix well using a whisk until smooth. Pour into a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
Cook Octopus
- Using a small sauce pan, boil 3 cups of water. Once boiling, add in chopped octopus. Cook for 2 minutes until it floats. Drain using a colander and set aside.
Takoyaki
- Heat up takoyaki pan to medium-high heat until hot. Using a brush, generously coat and brush the takoyaki pan including the individual holes. Once the oil starts to smoke, pour the takoyaki batter into the holes until overflowing into the other holes. Do not worry as we will clean this up as we go!
- Generously coat the batter with the cooked octopus (about 2-3 pieces per hole), imitation crab meat, and scallion.
- Once the batter has cooked for about 2-3 minutes, start to break up the connected batter and rotate the ball in 90° intervals. As you continue to rotate the ball, try to push the connecting "overflow" batter underneath the holes and continue to rotate until the ball has a crispy and brown outer edge. The total process should take about 6-10 minutes depending on how hot your heat is. If it browns too quickly, reduce the heat to low.
- Once your ball is cooked and browned evenly, remove from heat onto a serving plate.
Topping
- Top takoyaki with Kewpie mayo, Takoyaki sauce, cut seaweed, scallion, and bonito flakes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Let me know how you enjoy this recipe in the comments below! Stay tuned for more recipes!
xx, CWC
