Category: With beer!

How to Make Authentic Takoyaki without a special machine

Post author By grazing wombat
Post date 2 March 2022

Hello
How are you everyone?

Do you know Takoyaki?
If you visit to Japan, especially the Kansai area and cities such as Osaka, and you might see it.
Takoyaki is golf ball sized balls of batter with octopus, spring onion, red ginger. Shops will often add other ingredients to make their Takoyaki different from the others. You will be surprised find different tastes, textures, or ingredients.

This recipe, of course you can use a Takoyaki maker, or Japanese Tamagoyaki non-stick fry pan, but this time I’m using something most people have, a Sandwich press.
Yes, the shape is different but the taste is the same and you don’t have to use or buy a special machine.

What is Takoyaki
It is a dish believed to have originated in Osaka. It is made of flour dough, filled with octopus and condiments, and baked into a spherical shape about 3-5 cm in diameter.

History
Takoyaki was invented by Tomekichi Endo, the founder of Aizuya in Nishinari-ku, Osaka, in 1935.
Takoyaki was made with soy sauce flavoured batter and was not eaten with sauce. It is said that it was not until after the war, when tonkatsu sauce like BBQ sauce were introduced, that sauces were added, around the 1950s. Incidentally, “Aizuya” still sells “Takoyaki”, a lightly seasoned dough that can be picked up without sauce, in keeping with the taste of the original establishment.
Takoyaki is street and soul food in Osaka.

About Ingredients

Takoyaki Flour– You can buy this at Asian or Japanese supermarkets.
Takoyaki flour includes Dashi powder, sugar, salt, wheat etc. Each maker has a different recipe. Mine is 100g of Takoyaki flour, 300ml of water and 1 egg. Just add water and egg, mix, then done. Easy to use and quick.

Takoyaki Sauce– You can buy at Asian or Japanese supermarkets.
I’m using Otafuku Takoyaki sauce, but you can use Tonkatsu sauce, Okonomiyaki sauce, BBQ sauce, Obento Tonkatsu sauce (from Coles), or Bulldog BBQ sauce.

Mayonnaise– I’m using a Japanese one. You can use any one you like.

Red pickled ginger – You can buy at Asian supermarkets
You don’t have to use this but using red ginger makes Takoyaki taste exceptionally different, or you can use sushi ginger pickled.

Konbu Dashi powder– You can buy at Asian supermarkets
You’ll need this product if you are using plain flour to make Takoyaki batter.

Frozen taro– You can buy at Asian supermarkets, or you can buy fresh Taro at vegetable markets. You’ll need this as well if you are using plain flour for making Takoyaki batter. Using taro, your Takoyaki batter will be nice and fluffy.
Octopus– Frozen or Fresh.
You can use squid or prawn if you don’t like octopus or if you can’t get any.

Tenkasu– make tempura batter and drip the batter with chop sticks or a fork into hot oil and deep fry until golden colour. I make a lot them and make small portions. I put them into Ziplock bags and then freeze them. You can use for making Okonomiyaki, toppings for Udon noodle with soup, salad topping etc. If you don’t want to make them, you can use fried onion which is you can buy at supermarkets.

Bonito flakes– this is for topping when finished, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. You can buy them at Asian supermarkets

Takoyaki makers– you can buy on eBay, or at Dick Smith, Kogan, Amazon, or Bunnings if you want to get one.

Tips for making Takoyaki

• When you make Takoyaki batter, put wet ingredients in first and add dry ingredients so your batter doesn’t get rumps.
• Grate taro, I tried putting taro into a blender but didn’t get good results. It didn’t make my batter fluffy.
• When you use Takoyaki flour, each company has different recipes so before making the batter, check your Takoyaki flour.
• Cool down Dashi stock before adding it to the plain flour when making Takoyaki batter.
• When oiling the sandwich press, oil both sides.
• When you put the lid of the sandwich press down, check edge of the batter if it’s firm put it down carefully without any pressure.

When to eat Takoyaki

In japan, sometimes we do Takoyaki parties when a bunch of people gather, cook Takoyaki, drink beer, and have fun. Just like a BBQ here in Australia.

Using sandwich press to make Takoyaki

Authentic tasting Takoyaki without a special machine

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword dinner, easy to make, snack, with beer

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Servings 4 people

Author The Grazing Wombat

Equipment

1 Sandwich press

Ingredients

For Tenkasu

1 cup Tempura flour
1 each Egg
1 cup Water

For using Takoyaki flour

100 g Takoyaki flour
1 each Egg
300 ml Water

For using plain flour

100 g Plain flour
2 g Baking powder
300 ml Water
5 g Konbu dashi powder
100 g Frozen taro
1 each Egg

For Takoyaki

250 g Octopus Or prawn or squid
30 g Spring onion
20 g Red pickled ginger
30 g Tenkasu Or fried onion 25g
Takoyaki sauce Or BBQ sauce, bulldog sauce, tonkatsu sauce
JP mayonnaise
Bonito freke For garnish
1 tbsp Oil

Instructions

Making Tenkasu

Add egg and water into a bowl and mix well. Add tempura flour then mix well.
Drip the tempura batter into hot oil and deep fry Tenkasu until golden colour. Scoop them out and put them on a tray.

Making Takoyaki batter (using Takoyaki flour)

Add egg and water into a bowl and mix well. Then add Takoyaki flour and again mix well.

Making Takoyaki batter (using plain flour)

Pour hot water in jug, add Konbu dashi powder, mix well, then let it cool down. This is Dashi stock.
Grate Taro with grater.
Add baking powder into the 100g of plain flour.
Crack an egg into a bowl, add the dashi stock, and mix well.
Add the grated taro and mix well.
Add the plain flour mix and mix well. This is Takoyaki batter.

Prep for Takoyaki Ingredients

Boil water, add octopus and cook until a light pink colour.
Strain and rinse the octopus then let it cool down.
In the meantime, chop the spring onion and red ginger pickles.
Chop the octopus into small pieces.
Heat the sandwich press.
Wipe oil on both surfaces of the sandwich press using kitchen paper.
Pour a little more than half of the Takoyaki batter on the sandwich press.
Add the octopus, spring onion, red ginger pickles and Tenkasu or fried onion to the Takoyaki batter.
Pour rest of the batter on top of all the ingredients.
Check the edges of the mix and if they are firm, put the lid down but don’t press on it.
Cook for 2-3mins and raise the lid (if not quite cooked, cook more 1 min at a time).
Cut into whatever shapes you like, I cut into 4 this time.
Place the Takoyaki on plate and top with Takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes or whatever you like.
Itadakimasu!

Video

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How to make Okonomiyaki Step by Step

The grazing wombat YouTube Channel

Tags easy, Japanese food, okonomiyaki, sandwich press, takoyaki

Beef dish Dinner menu Mexican With beer!

Chill Colorado. So good you’ll want to cook it again!

Post author By grazing wombat
Post date 2 January 2022

Hello
Do you like Mexican food? YES! I loooove Mexican food and chilli. I went to shopping one day recently and I saw bargain on a slow cooker. I’ve always wanted one so I bought it.
I was thinking what to make with it? I ‘ve never liked beef brisket, I prefer steaks, but I wanted to use the slow cooler so I deicide to make Chilli Colorado (Mexican stew).
As you know stews and chilis are always better the next day, so I made this stew and next day, ate it with my husband and a friend. It was so good I think better than authentic chilli Colorado 😜.

Here is what you need.

Guajillo
Arbol
Ancho
(Those chilis, you can buy at Amazon au.)

Beef brisket – you can buy at supermarkets or butcher. I used it for this recipe, but you can use any cut you like such as chuck, short ribs etc. Slow cooked stews are a great way to use cheaper cuts of beef.

Beef stock- you can buy at supermarkets. You can use chicken stock or vegetables stock.

Here are tips for chilli Colorado.

• When you remove chilli seeds use gloves for safety. If don’t use any gloves, do not touch sensitive areas such as face, eye, nose, lips etc.

• Cook chilis with beef stock and once boiled, turn off the heat and cover with the lid. Leave 30mins to soften the chilis.

• When blending the chilis with beef stock, if not enough moisture, use a couple of teaspoons of the beef stock from the 750ml.

• Marinate the meat, some recipes use just salt and pepper, that’s ok, but if you marinade with spices you’ll have more flavour in your dish.

• Seal the meat with a high heat. The reason for sealing the meat before boiling is that the cooking process locks in the flavour. If the meat is boiled as it is, the flavour of the meat will be released into the soup. However, by sealing it once, the meat is covered with a keloid-like membrane. This allows the meat to absorb the flavour of the broth while retaining the flavour of the meat during the simmering process.

• When meat is grilled and then braised, it has the advantage of increasing the flavour of the meat dish. If you grill the meat so that it browns a little, you will be able to take advantage of its aroma when you cook it. It also removes the raw smell of the meat better than when it is first cooked.

If you don’t have a slow cooler
Use a pot (Enough cover meat and beef stock size) simmer for 6-7 hours with a lid.

Cook Perfect Chill Colorado with Slow Cooker

tender, juicy and spicy Mexican stew

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword dinner, dinner menu, with beer

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 7

Servings 4 people

Author ©the grazing wombat