Easy Homemade Takoyaki (Japanese Octopus Balls)

Looking for easy, fun, and delicious activity for your family during Covid-19 lockdown? Making this easy homemade takoyaki (Japanese Octopus Balls) might be an idea. Over the past week, my kids and I have been making plenty of this delicious Japanese yummy snack called takoyaki, known as Japanese octopus balls. Well, you actually can put any fillings and any toppings as you like – octopus, shrimp, chicken, ham, bacon, cheese, tofu, green onion, anything really, just try it and be creative. It is fun for the kids, because they can help out with flipping the takoyaki balls or placing each filling to each hole on the pan.

Also, did I mention that takoyaki is delicious? These Japanese octopus balls are crispy on the outside, soft and a bit chewy inside, and it tastes absolutely awesome. The takoyaki balls itself is savory, not too overwhelming but just right. Then, each ball is topped with takoyaki sauce, which is a bit sweet and savory, covered with light creamy kewpie mayonnaise, and sprinkled with umami katsuoboshi (salmon flakes). Yum~ No wonder takoyaki is one of the most popular street snacks in Japan. Why don’t you give it a try and let me know which combination of fillings and toppings is your favorite? Be creative and have fun!

Tools I used:

• Stove-top takoyaki pan – Non-stick stove-top takoyaki pan to make takoyaki (Japanese Octopus balls). Evenly heated, easy cleaning, easy to flip/stir and very durable. You can also use the electric takoyaki makers as an alternative.

Tip:

1. Use plenty of vegetable oil to make each takoyaki ball crispy.
2. Don’t be afraid to pour the batter until it is overflowing each hole – you can ‘stuff’ the overflowing batter later into each hole to form a nice round shape using two skewers or pointy chopsticks.
3. You can basically use any combination of fillings (octopus, shrimp, ham, cheese, bacon, and so on) and toppings (pickled ginger, chopped green onion, sesame seed, seaweed flakes, and so on) – be creative and just give it a try, you might find your favorite combination ^.^

Ingredient:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 450 ml dashi stock (made from 450 ml water + ½ teaspoon hondashi bonito soup stock)
• 1 egg
• ¼ lb Tako (Octopus) – cut into small pieces (about ½ inches)
• 6 medium shrimp – cut each shrimp into 4 pieces
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 stalks green onion – chopped
• 1 teaspoon pickled ginger – chopped (optional)
• Vegetable oil

Toppings

• Takoyaki Sauce (Can be replaced with BBQ Sauce – though the flavor might be a bit different)*
• Japanese kewpie mayo (Can be replaced with regular mayonnaise)*
• Katsuoboshi (Dried bonito flakes/salmon flakes)*
• Pickled ginger – chopped
• Other items (chopped green onion, sesame seed, shredded parmesan cheese, you got the idea)

*Essential to have as toppings for takoyaki

Direction:

• In a large mixing bowl, add hondashi powder and water and mix well.
• Then, add flour, corn starch, egg and milk. Whisk it thoroughly. The batter for takoyaki should be quite watery, thin and runny. You can add more water and a bit of dashi if it is too thick.
• Brush plenty of vegetable oil onto the takoyaki pan – to make each ball a bit crispy. If you are using takoyaki stove-top grill, heat up the oil under low-medium heat. You want it to be a slow-heating process – because you will need to cook the tako, shrimps or any other filling you put to be cooked evenly while shaping the batter into balls.
• Once heated, generously pour the batter to each hole. Don’t worry if the batter overflowing from the holes. You can ‘stuff’ the overflow batter into each hole later.
• Place one or two pieces of tako (octopus) or shrimp into each hole (or a combination of tako and shrimp in a hole). Then, sprinkle chopped green onion, and chopped pickled ginger across the pan.
• When the batter is a bit hardened, using two skewers or pointy chopsticks, break each connected batter between each hole.
• Then, flip each ball and stuff the extra batter that’s overflowing to the hole as you turn the ball. At this point, you can add more vegetable oil, if you want the takoyaki balls to be crispier.
• The uncooked batter in each ball will drip down to the bottom of the pan and form the other side of the takoyaki ball.
• After you finish flipping all the takoyaki balls, cook them for another 4-5 minutes. Try flipping each ball occasionally to form nice round shape.
• Transfer takoyaki balls onto a plate.
• Serve immediately with your favorite toppings (drizzle the takoyaki balls with katshuoboshi, takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, and other toppings). Enjoy – but be careful since it is still very hot inside!