Japanese Authentic Food – OSAKA TAKOYAKI (Octopus Balls) – Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Authentic Food – OSAKA TAKOYAKI (Octopus Balls) – Tokyo, Japan

Please respect the culture of other countries.
Takoyaki is a dish of 3 – 5cm balls of fried dough with octopus inside and condiments sprinkled on top. People say that this dish originates from Osaka City. As mentioned Takoyaki (Octopus Balls) is a small dumpling with a piece of octopus in the middle. Crispy outside and gooey inside. Osaka is famous for many delicious street foods.
Original Takoyaki was eaten only with sweet sauce until the end of WWII. During the Occupation of Japan, the owner of the takoyaki shop called Botejyu (ぼてじゅう) saw the American soldiers eating mayonnaise. He thought it could go well with Takoyaki and started serving mayonnaise in addition to the sweet sauce.
To make Takoyaki, you need to use a special pan called a ‘takoyaki grill pan’ so that you can make a ball-shaped soft dumpling.

There are many different variations of takoyaki, and a variety of ingredients are used to make them. It’s a little extreme to say this, but as long as there’s octopus in it, it can actually be considered takoyaki. That said, in this recipe, we’d like to introduce some classic takoyaki ingredients.

Ingredients for 16 Takoyaki Balls:
Batter
・200g of soft wheat flour
・3 eggs
・20ml of milk
　*Adding milk gives the takoyaki more of a mellow taste.
・600ml of water or dashi (broth)
Approx. 160g of octopus (chunks)
2 sticks of green onions (finely chopped)
30g of tenkasu (bits of deep-fried dough)
Dried seaweed
Shoga (pickled red ginger)
Takoyaki (or regular) sauce
Mayonnaise
Salad oil
Katsuobushi (sliced dried bonito)

I hope you enjoy the video.
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