Takoyaki

Ingredients

• all-purpose flour1 cup
• dashi stock (cold)2 1/2 cups
• large eggs2
• soy sauce1 tsp
• baking powder1/2 tsp
• cooked octopus150 g, cut in 1/2-inch dice
• scallions4, finely sliced
• pickled red ginger (beni shoga)3 tbsp, minced
• tenkasu (tempura crisps)1/3 cup
• neutral oilfor brushing the pan
• takoyaki sauce (or okonomi sauce)for drizzling
• kewpie mayonnaisefor drizzling
• bonito flakesfor topping
• aonorifor sprinkling

Steps

1. 1

   Whisk the batter ingredients.

   Whisk flour, baking powder, eggs, soy sauce, and cold dashi into a thin, pourable batter. It should be looser than pancake batter — almost like cream.

2. 2

   Heat and oil the pan.

   Heat a takoyaki pan (or aebleskiver pan) over medium-high heat. Brush every well and the surface between wells generously with oil until shimmering.

3. 3

   Overfill wells with batter.

   Overfill the wells so batter spills across the entire pan surface — this excess is what becomes the sphere wall.

4. 4

   Add octopus and toppings.

   Drop a piece of octopus into each well, then scatter scallions, beni shoga, and tenkasu generously across the whole pan.

5. 5

   Cook and shape the takoyaki balls.

   Cook 2 to 3 minutes until the edges set. Using a skewer, slice the connecting batter into squares around each well, then rotate each ball a quarter turn, tucking the loose batter underneath.

6. 6

   Rotate and baste spheres.

   Continue rotating every minute or so for 8 to 10 minutes, basting wells with more oil, until each sphere is round, deep golden, and crisp.

7. 7

   Serve with sauce and toppings.

   Pile into a tray. Zigzag with takoyaki sauce and mayo, shower with bonito flakes and aonori, and eat hot — they are molten inside.