Making your own takoyaki batter
Takoyaki is not really hard to do, you just need the special moulds and you’ll be ready to make your own version of takoyakis (or any -yakis, for that matter). The key ingredient in making a good flavorful takoyaki is of course the batter. The batter is the matter in this case as even in the largest takoyakis, the takos/ filling only make up for 40% of the ball.
As most of you living in Japan would know, takoyaki is very much Japanese not only for it’s name but also its taste. A distinctly Japanese taste that you can only get from dashi stock. So the key in making a good batter is to make good dashi stock – feel free to get pre-made packet stocks. Understandably, they are more convenient but personally, stocks are easy to prepare and are multi-purpose. I would suggest making your own and season it to your liking. A good dashi stock recipe comes from Just Hungry, the Japanese-International food site that I have raved about. I like the website very much because the author, a Japanese herself, explains each recipe’s background in a very detailed manner. You can be sure that the Japanese recipes you get from her blog are tried-and-true. I have personally made use of her dashi stock recipe – which is simple and flavorful and would recommend that you use this stock in your takoyaki :)
To make takoyaki batter, you will need:
# 1 2/3 cup flour
# 2 1/2 cup dashi stock
# 2 eggs
# 1 teaspoon baking powder
Mix the above ingredients together well.
To make takoyaki filling, you’ll need:
# 1/2lb octopus, cut into 1cmx1cm cubes, roughly
# 1/4 cup chopped green onion
# 1/4 cup chopped pickled red ginger
# Other filling options: shrimp, crab and eel (you can use meat but to me, takoyaki is all about seafood)
For the topping:
# fried bonito flakes
# shredded nori
# Worcestershire sauce or takoyaki sauce
# mayonnaise
To make takoyaki balls you will need a takoyaki griddle/pan that looks like this:
But here’s the thing, if you don’t have one and don’t want to invest in one, you can transform your takoyakis into mini okonomiyakis on your non-stick pan. They are as delicious :)
Here’s a video on how to make your own takoyaki like a street vendor, homestyle :)
There is a recipe in this video, you can also use that version. But I have tried that batter above and I give it my thumbs up. :)
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