Takoyaki

I'm a huge Takoyaki fan, and so got excited to the bone when I finally found a Takoyaki maker last December.  But life got in the way and I never got to try making Takoyaki until today.  I'm very happy to report that it turned out perfectly well, and we wiped out all 32 balls we made from this recipe. :)

TAKOYAKI

What's In It?

Takoyaki Batter

• 2 sachets Ajinomoto Dashi powder
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 2 large eggs, or 3 small ones, beaten lightly
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Fillings

• Diced Tako (octopus), about 1/2 cup
• Finely chopped cabbage, about 1/2 cup
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 T beni shoga (red pickled ginger), diced finely*
• 1/2 cup dried alamang (baby freshwater shrimps)*

Cooking oil

Kitchen Conjugations:

1. Make Takoyaki batter by first dissolving the dashi powder into the warm water.  Add in salt and soy sauce.  Pour in 2 cups water, then check seasonings.  Adjust by adding more dashi powder if desired. 

2. Check the dashi stock's temperature, which should be room temp. Slowly stir in the flour alternately with the beaten eggs.  Stir to combine well, ensuring the batter is free of lumps.  Set aside.

3. Plug in and turn the Takoyaki appliance on.  Brush each cavity generously with cooking oil.

4. Pour batter to each cavity to half-full.  Drop a little of each filling into each cavity. Let cook for about 3 minutes.

5.  Using skewers tilt each Takoyaki to check if the batter has cooked. Remove each half carefully, a row each time, and fill the vacated cavities as you have in step 4. Take the cooked Takoyaki halves back to their places, covering the other, still cooking half.  Do the same for the other Takoyaki halves.

6. Tilt the Takoyakis from time to time to ensure even cooking, also to make round them off.  Cook for another 3 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Remove from pan, serve drizzled with Takoyaki sauce and Kewpie mayonnaise (which I didn't have), sprinkled with Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes, which I didn't have as well--bummer!) and aonori (green seaweed).

Tabemashou! 食べる食べましょう!

Maki Mo 'To?

After my Spaghetti House craze came my Teriyaki Boy fad. But I didn't go bananas over the teriyaki -- I went there almost everyday for the California Maki and Futo Maki.

Sorry to cross your hopes, but nope, I am not infanticipating. This craving is strictly weirdo.
Shown here are the makis I ordered at Teriyaki Boy in Megamall, right when we took a break from my ninang dress adventure. Sorry if the photo leaves much to be desired -- there's only so much that can be done under poor lighting and with a camphone.


The makis, however, performed according to expectations.

Chicken Teriyaki - Pinoy version

The word teriyaki is a combination of two Japanese words: teri, which means luster and yaki, which means grilled. Of all meats, chicken is the most commonly used for teriyaki, although the recipe works well with other meats like beef, pork and turkey, as well as fish and seafood.

My first taste of teriyaki was back in UP, from one of the outlets in CASAA. Back then though, owing perhaps to the constraints of affordability, time and effortlessness, CASAA teriyaki were not grilled but were stir-fried (quite like bulgogi) on flat, stove-top griddles. Instead of whole chicken thighs or breast cutlets we got strips. Back then too, a set of beef teriyaki with sauteed mongo sprouts and a cup of rice, takeout (that costs higher than dine-in because you pay for the styro pack) is a measly P24.00!

Ah, those were the days. All I had to think about was how to budget my baon and how to make it through my next Calculus exam!

But going back on track, here's my recipe for Teriyaki. A cross between the budget-conscious UP version I loved and the sosy version everybody loves.

What's In It?

2 chicken breasts, skinned, deboned and cut into bite-sized strips
1/3 c light soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
2 T corn oil
1 T vinegar
1/2 t ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

Kitchen Conjugations:

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Heat about 1 teaspoon of cooking oil in a wok then stir-fry the marinated meat for 2 minutes. Add a little of the marinade when the meat gets done and simmer for 2 minutes more.

Serve hot with sauteed mongo sprouts with steamed rice and a garnish of onion leek strips.

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How is this different from the authentic Japanese version? Well, that one uses mirin (sweet rice wine) and sake (rice wine). Here, those are substituted with vinegar balanced by the brown sugar. And since this is stir-fried, you can easily make it in the morning for school or office baon.

Yasai Itame

Forgive my predilection for using octopus in my recipes. That's but a reaction to my husband's predilection for buying them. :) In my freezer are trays of baby octopus (like the ones used here), boiled octopus, smoked octopus, and even large octopus balls, which he buys from the Cold Storage section of Shopwise.

Well, if you're wondering, the taste and texture of octopi is just like that of the more commonly accepted squid. And since it's lower-priced (P95.00 per kilo compared to P120.00 per kilo for squid), the octopus may have well been substituting for squid in the squid balls that you eat. And if you've eaten Takoyaki balls, then you have eaten octopus. Tako is the japanese term for octopus.

Now here's a recipe making use of my frozen stash of octopi, a dish I never fail to have when we eat at Ramen Tei or Teriyaki Boy. The Yasai Itame in both restaurants use squid by the way. :)
The real recipe calls for cabbage, but since I have Kailan I decided to use it (in the process made the dish more colorful and photogenic). The recipe also commonly uses pork, but in deference to my Lower Mike's Cholesterol project, I've done away with that. :)

Yasai Itame with Baby Octopus

What's in it?

100g baby octopus (cleaned, heads sliced open, tentacles separated from head)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. Sake (rice wine)
1 big carrot (thinly sliced)
1 big onion (thinly sliced)
10 stalks/leaves Kailan or ½ small cabbage (sliced)
250g bean sprouts
1-2 green peppers (sliced)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. fresh ginger (grated)
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Kitchen Conjugations:

Marinate the octopus in 1 tbsp. soy sauce and Sake. Heat oil in a pan and stir-fry ginger for 3 minutes on high heat. Add marinated octopus, stir fry for 30 seconds, then add vegetables according to how long they take to cook: first the carrots, onion, cabbage, bean sprouts, peppers last. When the vegetables are half-cooked (crisp tender; sweating a little), add in the marinade, and season with pepper and salt.