Tako Tasty — Takoyaki Guide | takotasty.com
An ordered method: batter ratio, filling, cooking and turning technique, and the four classic toppings.
The takoyaki batter combines flour, eggs and dashi stock. It must be thin enough to flow into the hemispherical moulds and set around the filling, but thick enough to hold a sphere once turned.
The filling is octopus with tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger and green onion. The octopus is pre-cooked: simmered tentacle meat is cut into pieces of about 1-2 cm, small enough to fit inside a 4 cm ball.
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Cooking starts with a preheated pan: electric takoyaki makers heat the plate to roughly 220-250 C, while cast-iron pans are preheated on a stove. Moulds are filled, the filling is pressed in, and the base is allowed to set.
The turning is the step that decides the shape: each ball is turned with a skewer as the batter sets so it cooks into an even sphere, rotated a quarter turn at a time until the batter closes over.
Classic toppings are takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori (green laver) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes), applied after the balls are cooked. In Japan, takoyaki is sold as street food in boats of 6 to 12 balls.
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