Takoyaki! If you live in Japan you've heard of them. Most likely you've tried them too, and if you haven't? Well what's the matter with you? Either you haven't been here long enough yet, or you're a big baby and you're scared. Relax. Octopus isn't really much different than squid when cooked. In fact when you think about it, octopus is the perfect seafood. No bones, no hair... what could be easier?
Takoyaki was born in Osaka, and Osaka people are quick to let you know it. Even though it's now eaten nationwide, Osaka people will always tell you how much better and cheaper it is in its hometown. Having been to Osaka, but only having eaten Tokyo's takoyaki, I'm not in a position to argue.
99% of the time you'll be eating takoyaki on the street after just buying it from a takoyaki stand. The proprietor will cover it with brown sauce, mayonaise, seaweed flakes and fish flakes, and serve it to you in a plastic container with a little stick to stab them with. It may look like a disgusting mess, but it's actually not half bad (although I'm not wild about those fish flakes...).
But what do you do if you want to eat takoyaki at home? How hard is it to make? Those street vendor guys make it look pretty easy, but is it? Kumi and I decided to find out. Watch us make our own takoyaki in under 2 minutes!
The tricky part was trying to flip the balls over without them sticking to the pan and falling apart, much harder than it looks actually, so hats off to you takoyaki street vendors!
Oh, and
if you're concerned that chocolate and/or mollusks have played leading roles in the last three uploads, let me assure you that this trend is purely coincidental and that I (Mike) have not been replaced by some chocolate fanatic or tentacle fetishist.
