Octopus: Takoyaki, a Japanese Snack Food, from a Santa Cruz Apartment

This is my fifteenth offering in the 2025 Alphabet Challenge, our second year of working our way through the alphabet with recipes. It's hard to believe that we are more than halfway through the year...and the alphabet. We post every other week for the entire alphabet and this is year two. Thanks for starting this series, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.

photo by R

O is for...

• Citrus Marinated Chicken by A Messy Kitchen

• Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories

• Easy White Chocolate Covered Oreos by Blogghetti

• Jersey Octopus Ceviche by Food Lust People Love

• Octopus: Takoyaki, a Japanese Snack Food, from a Santa Cruz Apartment by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Onion Oaxaca Dip by Magical Ingredients

• Orange Avocado Salad by Mayuri’s Jikoni

• Orange Chocolate Cake by Sneha’s Recipe

• Orzo with Parmesan and Basil by Jolene’s Recipe Journal

• Overnight Oats by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Sheet Pan Italian Olive Oil Summer Vegetables by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

• Sticky Oven Baked BBQ Ribs by Palatable Pastime

Takoyaki, a Japanese Snack Food, from a Santa Cruz Apartment

When R was home for Thanksgiving one Fall when he was in university, he asked if he could take my Æbleskiver pan back to Santa Cruz. He also grabbed the package of frozen baby octopus from the freezer. "I plan to make takoyaki for my housemates," he shared. Of course! I will always happily support culinary adventuring, even if I can't partake.

And I love using my Æbleskiver pan so it's not a unitasker. I have used it, as it was intended, for Danish Æbleskiver, but also for Laotian Lao Khao Nom Kok, and Japanese Takoyaki.

photo by R

Takoyaki - literally 'grilled octopus' - is a fried Japanese snack or street food filled with pieces of grilled octopus. Traditional takoyaki are served either on a skewer or piled into a takeaway container, with various toppings and garnishes, including aonori (dried, powdered seaweed), katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), Japanese mayonnaise, and a salty-sweet sauce.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup flour (I used a mixture of ½ all-purpose flour and ¼ cup rice flour)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 egg

• ½ teaspoon soy sauce

• ⅔ cup dashi stock (or you can use ⅔ cup water with a pinch of instant dashi stock powder)

• ½ cup cooked octopus, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

• oil, for greasing pan

• Also needed: takoyaki or Æbleskiver pan, Japanese mayonnaise, and other garnishes

Procedure

To make the takoyaki batter, combine the flour, rice flour, and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, soy sauce, and dashi. Set aside.

Heat the takoyaki pan over medium-high heat. Dab the wells with oil. When the oil begins to smoke, fill the wells with batter. Top with a piece or two of octopus and a pinch of scallions. Cook until the bottoms of the balls are beginning to crisp.

photo by R

Use chopsticks or skewers, to rotate each takoyaki as they cook to give them a spherical shape. You can add a little bit more batter to complete the ball. Keep cooking and turning for 4 to 5 minutes until the outside is crisped.

To serve, place the takoyaki balls in a bowl with a scoop of rice. Drizzle with Japanese mayonnaise, another other dipping sauces you like, and the toppings of your choice. Serve immediately.

I am thrilled watching my boys blossom into creative, competent cooks. I always wanted them to grow up as intrepid eaters. It's a bonus to see them making their own delicious meals and sharing it with the people with whom they live.

This Time Last Year...

My posts are below with links to everyone else's recipes. I skipped letter 'F' apparently. Enjoy!

• A Reclaimed Æbleskiver Pan + Æbleskiver Bread Pudding

• Börek with a California Twist

• Crab-Stuffed Ravioli

• Dark Chocolate-Juniper Panna Cotta

• Elderflower & Roasted Strawberry Layer Cake

• Aïgo Bouido (Provençal Garlic Soup)

• Halva with Fiori di Sicilia

• I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Saffron-Cardamom Ice Cream

• Bulgogi-Inspired Oven Beef Jerky

• Purple Napa Kimchi

• Lingcod Over Legumes

• Mushrooms in My Cookies? Yep. Candy Cap Cookies.

• Nocino, Italian Green Walnut Liqueur

• How to Shuck Oysters and a Few Serving Ideas

So Far This Year...

Again: my posts are below with links to everyone else's recipes.

• The Polarizing Anchovy + Egg Salad Niçoise

• A Belated Birthday Bûche De Noël (Yule Log)

• Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake

• Gluten-Free Crystal Dumplings in Noodle Soup

• A Dozen Eggs - Stuffed, Scotch, Curried, and More

• Fig Leaf-Wrapped Cheese

• Garlicky Fregola with Edamame, Mint, and Ricotta

• Huckleberry & Earl Grey Tea Cakes

• Es Teler (Indonesian Drunk Ice)

• Inspired by a One-Word Text: Jjamppong

• A Fruit Formerly Known as ‘Kaffir’ + Makrut-Kissed Cookies

• Enamored with Culinary Lavender: From Sips to Sweets

• Mini Peach Galettes

• White Nectarine-Lime Jam

That's a wrap for my offering for the letter 'o'. We will be back in two weeks with the letter 'p'. Stay tuned!