Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼) is an extremely popular street food all over Japan. The spread of this food is contagious in Asia, now being seen in South Korea, All over mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. It has become so popular because of its cheap-affordable price, explosively molten hot texture, and convenience. You can find takoyaki everywhere in Japan from supermarkets to yatai (small, mobile food stalls) to specialty restaurants. The presentation and outer beauty of this dish is quite attractive but the true beauty lies beneath the layer of katsuobushi (fish flakes), Japanese-style mayonnaise, takoyaki sauce and spring onions.
There is nothing like molten hot half-cooked batter scolding your tongue and roof of your mouth to get your food jollies going! Before you rip into this snack be sure to remember that this ball of joy is not fully cooked on the inside and will burn the hell out of you. Strangely, always when I order this meal the chefs will tell me it is going to be very hot. I have come to realize that they say this not to warn you but to excite me with the pleasures to come. Once you get past the lava-like interior, the composition of the snack is quite simply and elegant. Takoyaki is created with a special takoyaki pan that helps to keep they cute round shape. The dish is made with wheat flour batter with spring onions, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and minced octopus. Takoyaki literally means octopus (tako) fried (yaki). Once the snack is cooked to specifications the chef throws Japanese mayonnaise, takoyaki sauce, similar to Worcestershire sauce, fish flakes and more spring onions. The ingredients compliment each other extremely well and really do come together to make a very fine snack.
One of the coolest and exciting aspects of this snack is watching it being created from scratch. The chef creates this magical concoction pours it into the pan, place octopus in the small round holes and lets them fry away. This snack takes considerable skill to made efficiently and effectively. If the chef does not let the bottom half of the batter fry properly before stirring it will become a mash of half-cooked dough. Moreover, if the chef lets the batter fry too long it will stick to the pan and, again, will become a mash of half-cooked dough. So what you see on a typical day or night out in Japan is takoyaki chefs waiting patiently till the perfect moment and then BAM! The chef stirs extremely fast and accurately with his chopsticks until the ball is beautifully golden. Making takoyaki is a true art and like any art, it takes many years to refine one’s skills to an acceptable level of quality. Thankfully, in Japan, chef do not play around with sub-quality work.
I have always enjoyed eating and watching the preparation of takoyaki and I do not see that feeling changing any time soon. Like with all dishes you must try this wonderful combination of lavaesque batter, tasty octopus, and high quality vegetables and condiments to truly appreciate this wonderful hot mess. Mangialo!
Japanese food: Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼) is a post from: EARTH EXCURSION