Japanese Takoyaki Octopus Balls (Printable)
Crispy battered balls filled with octopus, served with tangy sauce, mayonnaise, and seaweed toppings.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Batter
01 - 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 2 ½ cups dashi stock or water with instant dashi powder
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - ½ teaspoon soy sauce
06 - ½ teaspoon baking powder
→ Filling
07 - 5 ounces cooked octopus, cut into small cubes
08 - 2 tablespoons pickled red ginger, finely chopped
09 - 2 tablespoons green onion, finely sliced
10 - 2 tablespoons tempura scraps
→ Toppings
11 - Takoyaki sauce or okonomiyaki sauce, to taste
12 - Japanese mayonnaise, to taste
13 - 1 tablespoon dried green seaweed flakes
14 - 1 small packet bonito flakes
# Steps:
01 - Whisk together flour, eggs, dashi stock, salt, soy sauce, and baking powder until smooth. The batter should be thin and pourable.
02 - Preheat a takoyaki pan over medium heat and lightly oil each compartment.
03 - Pour the batter into the pan, filling each hole to the top. Add a piece of octopus to each hole, then sprinkle with red ginger, green onion, and tempura scraps.
04 - Cook for 1-2 minutes until edges start to set. Use skewers or chopsticks to turn each ball 90 degrees, allowing uncooked batter to flow out and form a round shape.
05 - Continue turning the balls every minute or so until evenly golden and crisp on all sides, about 8-10 minutes total.
06 - Remove takoyaki from pan and arrange on plate. Drizzle with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkle with aonori and bonito flakes. Serve hot.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- That contrast between the crispy exterior and the almost molten inside is pure magic when you get it right
- Once you master the turning technique, you'll want to make these for every gathering and watch people's faces light up
02 -
- The batter thickness is everything, too thin and they wont hold their shape, too thick and they'll be doughy inside, so aim for something that pours like heavy cream
- Do not skip the resting time for your batter, those few minutes let the flour hydrate properly and make such a difference in the final texture
03 -
- Preheat your pan for a good 5 minutes before adding any batter, that hot surface is what creates that immediate crisping on the bottom
- Use a small ladle or squeeze bottle for filling the holes, it gives you much more control than pouring from a mixing bowl