Step 1

Dice the octopus into 1-1.3cm / ½” cubes.

Step 2

Crack an egg into a jar with a capacity of 750ml / 1.6pt or more. Beat the egg.

Step 3

Add dashi stock and soy sauce to the jar and mix well.

Step 4

Add flour in 3-4 batches to the jar and mix well each time until lump free.

Step 5

Heat the Takoyaki Griller over medium-low heat.

Step 6

Oil each mould and the surface of the griller generously. A little bit of extra oil makes the Takoyaki crispier on outside.

Step 7

Fill each hole with the batter without overflowing (note 7). Slight spilling is OK.

Step 8

Put a piece of octopus in each mould, then tenkasu, shallots/scallion and benishōga on top of octopus. Leave some tenkasu, shallots/scallion and benishōga for the second batch (1/3 in my case as my pan makes 16 balls at once).

Step 9

Pour the batter over the mould and fill the entire surface of the pan/griller.

Step 10

Using a long bamboo skewer or a thin chopstick, draw grid lines between the moulds to partition each Takoyaki portion.

Step 11

Starting from the mould that gets the strongest heat (hence cooked fastest), use one or two bamboo skewers or thin chopsticks to scrape the edges of the batter partition and move them towards the mould

Step 12

Turn the batter 90 degrees, while tucking the excess batter into the mould.

Step 13

Repeat steps 11 & 12 for the rest of the takoyaki moulds.

Step 14

Turn the batter in each mould another 90 degrees so that the Takoyaki batter is completely turned over from its original position.

Step 15

Cook for about 5 minutes, during which turn over the balls from time to time to brown them evenly (note 8).

Step 16

Transfer the Takoyaki to a serving plate, smother them with Takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise (if using), sprinkle over aonori and bonito flakes. Serve while hot.

Step 17

Repeat all of the steps for Making Takoyaki, using the remaining batter and other ingredients.