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Read for freeTakoyaki is a Japanese snack made famous for its octopus filling. It’s a wheat flour-based batter with a round shape cooked in a special molded pan.
This Japanese snack is a ball of mixed ingredients that includes the “tako” (octopus, usually diced but could be minced), “tenkasu” (which are scraps of tempura), and you often add some green onions and also pickled ginger to the filling to spice up the flavor.
But, you can get a lot of amazing flavor variations by making these different filling types!
In this article, you’ll learn 7 takoyaki recipes and additional fillings you can use as alternatives for octopus meat.
In this post we'll cover:
Best homemade takoyaki recipe variations
Check out more takoyaki topping ideas, or here are a few more recipe variations for you:
Read more: If you like Japanese food you’ll love these dishes
You even have all of these non-octopus takoyaki variations like with chicken
Other tools and skills you need to make takoyaki
Do you know how to make takoyaki? If not, watch this How To Make Takoyaki (Recipe) on YouTube:
You don’t necessarily need the skills of a world-class chef to be able to cook the takoyaki; however, you need some basic skills and lots of practice!
The one thing you’ll need to remember when cooking the takoyaki is how to flip the batter correctly.
This is because when it is done in the wrong way, then the batter could get a different shape other than a sphere and you’ll ruin the takoyaki altogether.
It’s a tricky business as the batter could split open and the uncooked part of it might end up all over the pan instead of the mold, so must have the finesse of a chef to flip the batter over and perfectly put it where it belongs.
A bamboo or a small metal skewer should do the trick, although you may still have to use your hands to aid in flipping the takoyaki over successfully.
Sauce for takoyaki
Takoyaki toppings
Chances are, you don’t have all of these toppings, but I’ve listed them here so you can easily buy them online if you’re missing a couple of them:
And of course, you can check out my full post about the best takoyaki pans and how to make takoyaki
Popular alternative takoyaki fillings
- bacon
- sausage
- mentaiko
- cheese
- shrimp
- squid
- mochi
- avocado
- green peas
- edamame
- kimchi
- corn
- crab sticks
- fish cake
- chicken
You should check out this post I wrote about the exact flavor of takoyaki and all of the alternative filling ideas to learn EXACTLY how to make delicious variations of this Japanese favorite!
3 Tips to make the perfect takoyaki
It is hard to get the recipe right the first time. But that’s because people don’t follow the three most important tips.
They are so simple yet essential to getting perfect takoyaki balls every time.
Oil the pan well
People think that if you add a little teaspoon of oil, that’s enough. The secret to great, crispy takoyaki is to use lots of oil. Apply the oil generously everywhere.
Fill the holes of the pan and even add some to the surrounding area beside the molds. You need to fill holes with at least 5 mm of oil. The oil makes the takoyaki crispy and makes it easy to flip the balls.
Pour batter generously
The secret to a round takoyaki ball is to completely fill the mold with batter. It needs to overflow with batter so don’t worry about it if it seems too full.
Fill the whole grill with batter after you put in the octopus and the rest of the ingredients.
Flip balls at 90 degrees
As the batter cooks, break it with a chopstick or skewer so that the liquid flows out. Once the bottom browns, flip the balls at 90 degrees and let any uncooked batter pour out. You have a special takoyaki pick you can use for that.
Now, push the dough into the ball and the mold. This helps you make perfect round-shaped takoyaki.
Why is takoyaki so good?
Takoyaki is a very popular street food in Japan. This is because it has a delicious flavor. The taste is described as umami, or savory.
It is so good because the boiled octopus filling melts in your mouth and has a traditional seafood taste. As well, the round-shaped balls of dough are crispy and crunchy. They are easy to eat as bite-sized snacks.
Just remember to watch out because they come piping hot straight from the cast-iron specialty grill pan!
Can you use store-bought takoyaki mix?
If you don’t feel like making your own dough and batter from scratch, you can buy ready-made mixes in some Asian grocery stores but certainly online. It’s much more delicious to make your own batter though, and quite easy if you have the right ingredients.
Check out our new cookbook
Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.
Try it out for free with Kindle Unlimited:
Read for free
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
