Food Japanese Features japanese food

Takoyaki, Octopus balls

Sushi has already become an English word.  How about Okonomiyaki (a sort of Japanese pancakes), whose name derives from whatever you can put (literally okonomi, your preferences) in the pancake?  What about Takoyaki, or Octopus balls, in which diced octopus are cooked in the flour solution? 

Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki have been very popular items Japanese people eat.  Kids favor them for lunch or between-meals.  Adults even eat them as a light meal to go really well with beer.

The followings are pictures of Takoyaki.  Unfortunately, dancing bonito flakes cannot be seen in this picture (bonito flakes are added to Takoyaki upon purchase and seem to be dancing on Takoyaki due to the heat from Takoyaki), but you can have a sense of what it is like.  Usually dried seaweed, green onions, and red-pickled ginger add flavor to  Takoyaki. Some people like putting mayonnaise on Takoyaki as they do on Okonomiyaki.

Upon your purchase, when you are asked what you would like to add to Takoyaki, your answer should be "Zenbu Onegai Shimasu" (English: Everything on it), unless you are particular about or allergic to some ingredients.

Takoyaki in a wood Funazara

Can you see the yellow container?  It is called "Funazara" (English: a boat-shaped plate), because its shape resembles a boat.  Interestingly, some Takoyaki shops use authentic Funazara made of super-thin wood and others use just paper containers.  For some reason, this Funazara (pictured above) seems to keep Takoyaki as warm and moist as it should be!!

You can see a diced octopus piece in the above picture (the round pinkish one at the bottom).  ONE dice of octopus is supposed to be in each Takoyaki ball.   If you happen to find no dice, you may have a lucky day!!

One more interesting picture is below: Osaka-limited Takoyaki Pringles.  This literally has flavor of Takoyaki, which Osaka is very famous for.  When you have a chance to visit Osaka, why don't you look for this!!

Takoyaki Pringles available in 2020