Tako Yaki たこ焼き

Growing up in Sapporo 札幌, Hokkaido, takoyaki たこ焼き was not an item I encountered often. So-called "Konamon" こなもん food cultures are an Oosaka 大阪 (Kansai 関西) tradition which may include takoyaki,  okonomiyaki お好み焼き as well as noodles (especially udon). "Kona" 粉 means flour and anything made from flour may qualify as "konamon" but the exact definition escapes me.

One of the  reasons I made takoyaki was because this gave me another post but also because of my sister-in-law gave me an electric ebelskiver cooker as a Christmas present. After several of the cookers were delivered by Federal Express Ground to random locations other than our house it finally arrived last week—only 2 months late for the Christmas holiday. When I saw the cooker all I could think was Takoyaki. The size of the cooking wells and resulting product were larger than traditional Takoyaki but my wife said, “just call it American style takoyaki.

I made a takoyaki sauce and garnished with bonito flake powder and "aonori" 青海苔. For the first try, this was good with a crunchy outside and molten soft inside centered with a piece of boiled octopus leg.

 

Since this is not a type of food I grew up with, I looked for an authentic recipe for takoyaki. After looking through various recipes, I settled for the recipe which was written in Osaka dialect (a true sign of its authenticity).

Ingredients:

Takoyaki sauce:  A mixture of Lee and Perrin worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and honey. The ratio of the Worcestershire sauce and ketchup is about 1:2 and honey to your liking of sweetness. The authentic sauce is supposedly rather sweet. Among the pre-made commercial sauce, Otafuku brand takoyaki sauce おたふくたこ焼きソース is most popular. (left, upper).
Boiled octopus leg: I just cut into 1/2 inch or 1cm chunks (I made 12) (right lower).
Scallion: Finely chopped about 4 stalks (left lower) (1 tsp per ball).
Tenkasu*:  See picture and write up below. (1/2 to 1 tsp per ball).

In terms of the garnish,  I prepared dried "aonori" (upper right) and dried bonito powder (middle right, I made bonito powder by grinding the bonito flakes in a Japanese mortar and pestol (suribachi すり鉢) but this is not necessary (use as is).

I did not use additional items such as red pickled ginger (紅生姜) or small dried shrimp (桜エビ). According to this recipe, adding shredded cabbage is totally not authentic. If used, it should be called "Okonomiyaki" ball rather than takoyaki.



*Tenkasu: One more ingredient I needed was "tenkasu" 天かす or "agedama" 揚げ玉 a by-product of making tempura. They are the small fried tempura bits of batter that come off the main tempura while it is being cooked. They are quickly removed from the oil before they burn. Besides being used in making takoyaki and okonomi-yaki, they can be used as a topping for noodles (such as in "Tanuki" udon or soba), miso soup and other dishes.
Interestingly, in Hokkaido they are more commonly called "agedama" or "fried balls".  This is a term I prefer to Tenkatsu which literally means "wastage or scum" of tempura and does not sound particularly appetizing to me. They used to be discarded or given away free at tempura or soba restaurants but more recently, packaged commercial products can be had (some even flavored by ground up dried shrimp). I could have made this myself but for takoyaki, I bought pre-made one, as seen on the left, at my Japanese grocery store.

The advert on the package boasts of supposed health aspects of this otherwise unhealthy product. The package indicated it was healthy because it was fried in Canola oil and 0% cholesterol (same in any other vegetable oil). Maybe this is better than if they were fried in tallow but the distinction seems slim to me. I see similar amusing claims on potato chip packages touting how healthy they are. In any case, surprisingly they were not oily and had no smell or taste of oxidized oil but, by the same token, they had no flavor whatsoever, only texture. We were not sure this added anything special to our takoyaki (I added about 1 tsp per ball).

Batter: The batter is most important. I like this recipe since it was proportional based on the numbers of eggs used. The important things seem to be; 1. Use a good quality cake flour,  2. Liquid and flour ratio is 1:4 to 1:4.5 (some recipes call for 1:5 ratio), 3. Use of powdered skim milk and baking powder (They are recent additions and improve the quality of takoyaki according to this author. He referred to these additions as "progress").  I really liked this approach so I translated his chart below.

Numbers of takoyaki	Cake flour	Powdered milk	Baking powder	Sugar	Salt	Soy sauce	Dashi broth	Eggs
20 (12*)	70g	1 tbs	1/2 tsp	1 tsp	1/4 tsp	1 tsp	300cc	１
40	140g	2tbs	1 tsp	2 tsp	1/2 tsp	2 tsp	600cc	2
60	210g	3tbs	1.5 tsp	3tsp	3/4tsp	3 tsp	900cc	3

*12 using my ebleskiver maker.

I made the smallest amount (i.e. using one egg). This amount should make 20 takoyaki but with my American style takoyaki/ebleskiver cooker, I could make only 12 since the diameter of the wells are 5.5cm as opposed to either 3.5 or 4.2 cm of authentic takoyaki grills. I think the size difference is not a problem, at least for us. I used about 10cc of 1% milk since I did not have powdered skim milk and reduced the dashi by that amount. The dashi was made with kelp and bonito flakes as usual. I did not sift the flour (which is recommended) but added the cold liquid into the dry ingredients gradually as I whisked. It made a rather thin batter. I let it refrigerate for several hours before using.

Assembly: This is where the fun starts. I preheated my ebleskiver maker on "High" setting for several minutes. Using vegetable oil and paper towel, I oiled the wells and the top surface (this has Teflon coating). I poured the batter (after mixing it again) to 90% of the well (se below)



After few minutes the edges started bubbling and I added the octopus leg (below).



I then added the scallion (about 1 tsp) and the tenkatsu (1 tsp) and topped it off with more batter (see below).



Using the bamboo skewer and the special sticks came with the ebleskiver maker,  I tested if the bottom was set and started turning them over (below).



I turned them over few more times to make all the surface equally brown (see below).



The center should be still molten (as I was told) so I declared these  done.



I brushed a small amount of my takoyaki sauce (mine is not as sweet as real Osaka style but I thought it was good. My wife said the sauce made the dish.) I then sprinkled on a pinch of the bonito powder and aonori powder (the first picture).

The center was very hot and molten. My wife thought that, instead of octopus leg, we could use shrimp (which I agree but then it will not be called takoyaki—maybe ebiyaki?). Another natural variation would be the addition of cheeses. Since I made "authentic" takoyaki, I may experiment with more variations (of course, I may consider making ebleskiver as well). We made total of 12 (9 in the first batch and three more). Between two of us, we finished all 12 in no time.

Takoyaki variation with tofu and nagaimo 長芋豆腐たこ焼き

This is a takoyaki たこ焼き ("tako grill") variation made without "tako" (octopus). This recipe is from "The real Japanese Izakaya Cookbook". We made takoyaki (octopus inclusive) using an electric ebelskiver maker before. An ebelskiver maker is the closest we could come to a traditional takoyaki grill.  This recipe deviates significantly from the traditional approach because it uses grated nagaimo 長芋 and tofu 豆腐 instead of flour. Instead of tako is uses hijiki ひじき sea weed and edamame 枝豆 . Continuing on the innovative theme, instead of the usual "Takoyaki sauce", this recipe used "Gin-an" 銀餡 which is a milder and "more sophisticated" sauce.

The surface was nicely brown and crunchy.

The inside was soft and hot showing hijiki (black stringy below) and edamame (green).

Ingredients: (I tried to halve the amount of the original recipe. I ended up making some changes inadvertently, since I just did not want to use "half egg" and I did not want to leave a small portion of nagaimo).

The original recipe is as follows;

1 firm silken tofu 12oz (350g)
Handful dried Hijiki seaweed
8 oz (225g) unshelled edamame pods (then, cooked and shelled)
1 egg
4oz (125g) yamaimo
1/2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt

The amount below are what I think I used. It made 6 balls using the Ebelskiver cooker (the balls were larger than regular takoyaki) as below.

1 small package of silken tofu, about 125gram, wrapped in paper towel with a weight (I used wooden cutting board) to drain for 1 hour.
Nagaimo, skin removed and grated, about 120g (I used up what I had left)
1 egg
Hijiki seaweed, hydrated, arbitrary amount
Edamame, frozen, cooked and shelled, arbitrary amount
Pinch of salt and sugar
"Katakuri-ko" potato Starch (because, proportionally I used more nagaimo and egg than the original recipe which made the batter runnier, I added potato starch to adjust the consistency of the batter).

For the dipping sauce; (this is the original, again, I halved the recipe when I made it)
2 tbs potato starch
2 cup (500ml) dashi
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 sugar
1/2 tbs mirin
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Using a small food processor, I mixed the tofu, grated nagaimo, egg, salt and sugar until the batter was smooth. I then added the potato starch in small increments to adjust the consistency (it was the consistency of a bit runny pancake batter).
I added the hijiki, edamame and mixed (#1)
I preheated my electric ebelskiver to medium high (#2)
I poured the batter filling 6 wells (#3)
After the bottom got set and browned (it took a few minutes, I was too inpatient and started flipping too early)
After several flipping, the surface started getting evenly brown (#4)
I kept flipping until the surface is all cooked and browned about 5-6 minutes (#5 and 6).

This version of takoyaki was good and the dipping sauce went well with it but this is not really takoyaki (I am sure people from Osaka would agree). It is a dish in-and-of its own just resembling the shape of takoyaki. Making  this requires some steps and effort and I would rather make  regular takoyaki which is much easier to make.

Grilled skewered octopus 鮹（の串）焼き

One of the Izakaya blogs I am following had a description and picture of what they referred to as“Takoyaki” たこ焼き. But it was not the famous Osaka snack of a small grilled dumpling containing a small  piece of octopus that would usually come to mind when you hear the name “Takoyaki”. This particular  "takoyaki" is quite different and appears to be chunks octopus leg (“Butsugiri” ぶつ切り) which is skewered, grilled and served with soy sauce and wasabi. I happened to have a cooked (boiled) octopus leg and decided to imitate this “takoyaki”, although I have never tasted or seen it before and this may not be the way they prepared this dish.



I thinly sliced the thickest potion as “sashimi” (left in the above picture) and cut the rest into sizable chunks. I skewered them (I prepared two skewers) and grilled them in the toaster oven on broil for about 5 minutes turning once. As you can see some of the edges got slightly charred. Besides soy sauce, I also made “Karashi sumiso” からし酢味噌 from “saikyou miso” 西京味噌.

The sashimi was very tender and excellent.  As to "takoyaki”, we are not sure. Grilling made it a bit more chewy and warm but appeared not to add anything more. We prefer just simple “Butsugiri” seasoned with “karashi sumiso” but we need to visit this place called “Akita-ya” 秋田屋 in Hamamatsu-chou 浜松町 in Tokyo and try this before passing on the final opinion.

Ebi Yaki "Æbiskiever" エビ焼 "エビスキーバー"

As we suggested in the previous post of "Takoyaki" たこ焼き, we made "Ebiyaki" エビ焼き. Since we made this in our Æbelskiever cooker, I name this "Æbiskiever" エビスキーバー.  We had this for lunch one weekend.

From the outside, they look the same as takoyaki. This time I used bonito flakes as garnish with aonori 青海苔 and my takoyaki sauce たこ焼きソース.



Once you cut into it, however, instead of octopus, you’ll find shrimp.



I used shell-on raw frozen shrimp, thawed under running cold water, shelled, cut into chunks, and salted (below).



After some discussion with my wife,  I decided to omit "Tenkasu" 天かすsince our store-bought variety does not add any flavor (this must be related to the kind of tenkatsu you use) and once cooked in the batter, no texture remained in the takoyaki.  So, I used chopped scallion and the shrimp but nothing else in our Æbiskiever.

I prepared the batter as before but I used powdered skim milk as the original recipe suggested. I let it rest over night in the refrigerator. For the first batch this time, I did not do as well as my first try. After my wife took over for the second batch, we learned that you have to be extremely patient (which I knew and I was when I made takoyake, but in general is not my forte) until the crust is fully formed before trying to turn them over. The sauce was made as before; a mixture of Lee and Perrin worcestershire sauce, ketchup and honey. I made the sauce slightly sweeter than before.

I am sure a traditionalist "Takoyaki" connoisseur will cringe at our innovation but we really liked this Ebiyaki "Æbiskiever". Watch out, more variations to come!

Hijiki stir fry and other otoshi ひじきの炒め物と他２品

This is a starter line-up for one evening. Nothing is particularly new. From left to right are "aji-tsuke-tamago" 味付け卵 marinated soft boiled egg, hijiki seaweed and fried tofu stir fly ひじきと油揚の炒め物, and salt-broth soaked sugar snap スナップ豌豆の塩びたし.

Over the years I changed the way I make aji-tsuke tamago a bit (made it simpler and easier). As usual, I use pasteurized eggs. For some time, I have been using "boil-steam" cooking method for boiled eggs which works much better than just submerging eggs in water and boiling. I use just enough water to come half way up the sides of the eggs. (The eggs are cooked by steam). I pierce the eggs first and place them in the water that is boiling rapidly on medium high flame. I put on the lid and cook for 6 minutes 30 seconds for soft boiled eggs with runny yolk (I usually ask Siri to time the 6 1/2 minutes). I cool the eggs using cold running water and then further cool them down using ice water. This appears to make peeling the egg easier (I think). I then put the peeled eggs in a small Ziloc bag and just pour in a small amount of concentrated "men-tsuyu" めんつゆ noodle sauce from the bottle. I remove the air as much as possible and seal. I let it marinade for a few days in the fridge changing the position whenever I open the fridge door. After a few days, the runny yolk jells into an almost custard consistency. To serve I cut one in half and sprinkle with salt. This is usually a topping for ramen noodles but it is also great as an appetizer.

The dish shown below is very similar to what I posted before. I made this because I hydrated too much hijiki when I made the takoyaki variation. This is made of just hijiki, julienned carrot and thinly cut "abra-age" deep fried tofu pouch, stir fried with sesame oil, mirin and soy sauce. This can be a good condiment for rice or as we did here, a great snack.

The dish below has become our favorite way to have sugar snaps. Just blanched sugar snaps are nice but this extra step of trimming both ends of the pods and soaking in salt seasoned Japanese "dashi" broth makes it much better. The only caution is when you bite into them the salt broth that migrated into the sugar snap while it was soaking may squirt out.

So these three items with cold sake nicely started the evening. This home Izakaya is not bad if I say so myself.