Weekend 5: Takoyaki (Octopus Dough Balls)

Erin arrived safely and was feeling alert and awake so we decided to go out to dinner.  We jumped right in to giving her a more Japanese dinner experience and went to a little restaurant in town.  We ordered Takoyaki.

Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼, literally fried or grilled octopus) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. Takoyaki are brushed with takoyaki sauce, a sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise. The takoyaki is then sprinkled with green laver and shavings of dried bonito. Takoyaki is associated with yatai street food stalls, but there are many well-established takoyaki specialty restaurants, particularly in Osaka and the Kansai region. 

Takoyaki was first popularized in Osaka, where a street vendor named Tomekichi Endo is credited with its invention in 1935. (Wikipedia).

We also ordered some raw fish and some different meats on a stick.  Which is also something you see here...chicken, pork, etc all served on a stick.  For some reason I didn't take pictures of any of that.  But, it was good and Erin's introduction to Japan began in full swing.  Oh, and our girls ate the takoyaki, right after I took the octopus out...

Randomly, the next day we saw someone (in a restaurant window) making takoyaki.  It was made much different than I thought, (since I thought a dough ball with octopus in it was dipped in a fryer), so I took a short video to show everyone.