Aizuya Takoyaki ★ 4.8
Aizuya, the Namba birthplace of takoyaki, making the purist Osaka version: small octopus balls without mayonnaise, with a liquid-centre batter.
Try: Takoyaki
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 200g wheat flour
- 600ml dashi stock
- 2 eggs
- 100g cooked octopus, diced 1cm
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 30g tenkasu (fried tempura bits)
- 20g beni shoga (red pickled ginger)
- Worcestershire sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, bonito flakes, aonori to serve
Method
- Whisk flour, dashi, and eggs into a thin batter (looser than pancake batter).
- Heat a takoyaki mould over medium heat and oil each hemisphere generously.
- Fill each cup to the brim with batter, then add a piece of octopus, pinch of spring onion, tenkasu, and beni shoga.
- When the underside sets (about 2 minutes), use a skewer to rotate each ball 90 degrees so raw batter flows into the mould.
- Continue rotating every 30 seconds until a sphere forms with a lightly crisp exterior and liquid centre.
- Serve immediately with Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes, and aonori.
Tip from the editors. The batter must be thinner than pancake batter; the running liquid centre is produced by a higher dashi-to-flour ratio than most home cooks attempt.
Where to eat takoyaki
Takoyaki in Osaka
Wanaka Takoyaki Shinsaibashi ★ 4.7
A Shinsaibashisuji takoyaki counter rated among Osaka's best, known for its thicker dashi-rich batter and a tsuyu glaze instead of Worcestershire.
Try: Takoyaki
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