is a popular ball-shaped Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese dumpling

Dumpling

Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...

 or more like a savory pancake

Pancake

A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...

 made of batter

Batter (cooking)

Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...

 and cooked in a special takoyaki pan (see below). It is typically filled with diced or whole baby octopus, tempura

Tempura

], is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.-Batter:A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour . Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added...

 scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger

Beni shoga

is a type of tsukemono . It is made from ginger cut into thin strips, colored red, and pickled in umezu , the pickling solution used to make umeboshi; the red color is derived from red perilla. It is served with many Japanese dishes, including gyūdon, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba.Beni shōga is not the...

, and green onion

Welsh onion

Allium fistulosum L. is a perennial onion. Other names that may be applied to this plant include green onion, spring onion, escallion, and salad onion...

.

In modern days, it became common to be brushed with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...

, and topped with green laver (aonori

Aonori

, also known as green laver, is a type of edible green seaweed, including species from the genera Monostroma and Enteromorpha of Ulvaceae. It is commercially cultivated in some bay areas in Japan, such as Ise Bay...

) and katsuobushi

Katsuobushi

is the Japanese name for dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna .Shaved Katsuobushi and dried kelp - kombu - are the main ingredients of dashi, a broth that forms the basis of many soups and sauces in Japanese cuisine.Katsuobushi's distinct umami flavor comes from its high...

 (shavings of dried bonito

Bonito

Bonito is a name given to various species of medium-sized, predatory fish in the Scombridae family. First, bonito most commonly refers to species in the genus Sarda, including the Atlantic bonito and the Pacific bonito ; second, in Japanese cuisine, bonito refers to the skipjack tuna , which, in...

). There are many variations to the takoyaki recipe. For example, ponzu

Ponzu

is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is tart, with a thin, watery consistency and a light yellow color. Ponzu shōyu or ponzu jōyu is ponzu sauce with soy sauce added, and the mixed product is widely referred to as simply ponzu.The element pon arrived in the Japanese...

 i.e. soy sauce with dashi

Dashi

Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stock, considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. In 1980, Shizuo Tsuji wrote: "Many substitutes for dashi are possible, but without dashi, dishes are merely à la japonaise and lack the authentic flavor." Dashi forms the base for miso soup, clear broth, noodle...

 and citrus vinegar, goma-dare i.e. sesame-and-vinegar sauce or vinegared dashi.

It was first popularized in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, where a street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with its invention in 1935 under the influence of Akashiyaki

Akashiyaki

is a small round dumpling from the city of Akashi in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi before eating. Locals refer to it simply as . It is said to start selling modern style akashiyaki in Taishō period by a yatai shopper Seitarō Mukai...

. Takoyaki was initially popular in Kansai

Kansai

The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...

 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

Yatai

A is a small, mobile food stall in Japan typically selling ramen or other hot food. The name literally means "shop stand."The stall is set up in the early evening on pedestrian walkways and removed late at night or in the early morning hours before commuters begin to fill the streets...

) but today there are many well-established takoyaki specialty restaurants/eateries that are very popular. Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 and the Kansai area is particularly 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 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

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...

 items such as teppanyaki

Teppanyaki

is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan , which means iron plate, and yaki , which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried...

, yakitori

Yakitori

, grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term Yakitori can also refer to skewered food in general. Kushiyaki , is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled...

, teriyaki

Teriyaki

Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...

and sukiyaki

Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish in the nabemono style.It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin...

.

Takoyaki pan

A or—much more rarely— is typically made of cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

 with half-spherical

Sphere

A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...

 mold

Mold

Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...

s. The heavy iron evenly heats the takoyaki. Commercial gas-fueled takoyaki cookers are used at Japanese festivals

Japanese festivals

Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions. Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals but have undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs....

 or by street vendors. For home use, electric versions resembling a hotplate; stovetop versions are also available.

Takoyaki batter recipe

To make about 60 takoyaki balls:

• low gluten wheat flour 300 g
• dashi
  Dashi
  Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stock, considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. In 1980, Shizuo Tsuji wrote: "Many substitutes for dashi are possible, but without dashi, dishes are merely à la japonaise and lack the authentic flavor." Dashi forms the base for miso soup, clear broth, noodle...
  
   1000 ml (chilled)
• eggs 3
• soy sauce 1 tsp
• salt 1.5 tsp

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.

See also

• Japanese cuisine
  Japanese cuisine
  Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
  
  
• Æbleskiver
  Æbleskiver
  Æbleskiver are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover...
  
  , traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere.
• Poffertjes
  Poffertjes
  Poffertjes are a traditional Dutch batter treat. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, they are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. Unlike American pancakes, they have a light, spongey texture...
  
  , a similar Dutch dish that is sweet.
• Paniyaram
  Paniyaram
  The Kuzhi paniyaram is a South Indian dish made by steaming batter — traditionally made from pulses and rice using a mould. The batter used is the same as that for idli and dosa. Kuzhi paniyarams can be made sweet or spicy...
  
  , a similar dish from the south of India that comes in sweet and savoury varieties.
• Yorkshire pudding
  Yorkshire pudding
  Yorkshire Pudding is a dish that originated in Yorkshire, England. It is made from batter and usually served with roast meat and gravy.-History:...
  
  
• Okonomiyaki
  Okonomiyaki
  is a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...