Recipes / International dishes / Savory Cakes

Takoyaki (Japanese Octopus Balls), No Added Refined Sugar

Name: Takoyaki (Japanese Octopus Balls), No Added Refined Sugar
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Japan
Ingredients: All purpose flour 110g (90g for the batter, 20g for the tenkasu); rice flour 10g; baking powder 1/2 teaspoon; octopus 300g; chicken egg 1; kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 9g; salt 1/4 teaspoon; soy sauce 10g; water 250ml for the batter and 30ml for the tenkasu; cooking oil for frying the tenkasu and brushing the pan; spring onion, pickled red ginger, takoyaki sauce, Lean Mayo, dried seaweed and dried bonito flakes to finish

International dishesSavory CakesJapanAbout 45 minutes

Takoyaki comes down to the pan and the turn of your hand. The batter is very loose, and the balls only fill out if more batter goes in twice.

Tenkasu, the crisp fried batter bits, are made by mixing 20g flour with 30ml water and flicking it into hot oil to fry for 2 to 3 minutes. The batter passes through a sieve once more before it goes into the pan, which is what gives evenly risen balls with a smooth surface.

This batch weighs about 438g, at roughly 101 calories per 100g.

Nutrition (this recipe makes 3 servings)

126kcal

13.4gprotein

2.1gfat

0.1gsugar

The sweetness here comes from kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and fruit. There is no added refined sugar.

Estimated from raw ingredients; the real numbers shift a little depending on how you cook and what you buy.

This batch makes 3 servings. This amount of batter fills the pan for one round and divides into 3 servings.

Ingredients for the batch

All purpose flour 110g (90g for the batter, 20g for the tenkasu)
rice flour 10g
baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
octopus 300g
chicken egg 1
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 9g
salt 1/4 teaspoon
soy sauce 10g
water 250ml for the batter and 30ml for the tenkasu
cooking oil for frying the tenkasu and brushing the pan
spring onion, pickled red ginger, takoyaki sauce, Lean Mayo, dried seaweed and dried bonito flakes to finish

Method

Remove the eyes, innards and beak from the octopus, score where the tentacles join, rub it with salt to clear the slime, then rinse it several times. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes, lift out and cut into bite sized pieces.
Chop the spring onion and the pickled red ginger. Mix 20g all purpose flour with 30ml water, heat a pan with plenty of oil, then flick the mixture in and fry it for 2 to 3 minutes to make the tenkasu.
In a large bowl, whisk together 250ml water, 1 egg, 9g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 10g soy sauce. Sift in 90g all purpose flour and 10g rice flour, add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, mix well and pass the batter through a sieve until smooth.
Heat the takoyaki pan, brush a thin layer of oil into the wells, fill each about 90% with batter, lower the heat and add the octopus, spring onion, pickled red ginger and tenkasu.
Raise the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the surface sets, turn each ball upright with two skewers and pour in more batter.
Cook for another 3 minutes, then turn and add batter once more so the balls fill out, and cook for another 5 minutes until they are evenly golden.
Lift the balls onto a plate, drizzle over the takoyaki sauce and Lean Mayo, scatter on the dried seaweed and bonito flakes, and serve hot.

Tips

Rice flour makes the balls softer and richer, and all purpose flour on its own works if there is none.
Without bottled takoyaki sauce, mix ketchup with worcestershire sauce and a little kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Pickled red ginger can be swapped for young ginger cut into strips and steeped in vinegar.
Squid or shrimp work in place of octopus.
Boil the octopus for 8 to 10 minutes before cutting it into pieces, as any longer turns it rubbery.

Need the monk fruit sugar or Lean Mayo?

These two are what kOBE cooks with in the recipe above. See the product page or send us a message.

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