Eucharist

Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼^?) (literally fried or grilled octopus) is a popular ball-shaped Japanese dumpling or more like a savory pancake made of batterand cooked in a special takoyaki pan (see below). It is typically filled with diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion, brushed with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, and topped with green laver (aonori) and katsuobushi (shavings of dried bonito). There are many variations to the takoyaki recipe.

Originally takoyaki used to be eaten without sauce or dip but in modern days it became common to eat it with a variety of sauces (takoyaki sauce,mayonnaise) and/or dips (e.g. ponzu i.e. soy sauce with dashi and citrus vinegar, goma-dare i.e. sesame-and-vinegar sauce or vinegared dashi).

It was first popularized in Osaka where a street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with its invention in 1935. Takoyaki was initially popular inKansai but later spread to Kanto and other areas. Today, it is popular in many areas throughout Japan. Takoyaki can be purchased in many street food stalls (yatai) but today there are many well-established takoyaki specialty restaurants/eateries that are very popular. Osaka or the Kansai area is particular famous for it. It may be often sold in many commercial outlets, e.g. supermarkets or 24-hours shops. In addition, frozen takoyakis are even exported to many overseas countries.

Yaki is derived from "yaku" (焼く^?) which is one of the cooking methods in Japanese cuisine, meaning "to fry or grill", and can be found in the names of other Japanese cuisine items such as teppanyaki, yakitori, teriyaki and sukiyaki.

To make about 60 takoyaki balls:

Mix all the ingredients till smooth, and rest the batter in a refrigerator for overnight or 1 full day. Mix it well every time it is to be cooked, as the starch will sediment rapidly.

There are many variations to the batter recipe, e.g. different types of flour may be used, some batter mixes corn starch, other may substitute some part of the water with milk.