Takoyaki Party

Saturday 1 November 2008, Tomo-Chan and Marc had invited us (Toko-Chan, Sachi-Chan and Me) to their lovely home for a popular and yummy Takoyaki Party! After stuffing our faces with 200 balls!!! And hours of Wii fun. In the end Toko gave up with a cramped left foot and her tired arms from washing too many pairs of dirty undies. Sachi showed off her yoga and balancing moves she is as fit as a 54 yrs old. When asked how does she keep it all so well? Sachi says, Young at heart is the key! and lot of happy smiles : ) Mary was headbutted by lots of football boots and was sent back to the bench. Tomo was the winner of all. Well Done!! Marc suggested us to go skinny dipping with a beer and feeling rich! But the weather was a bit too cold so we've opt for next round of Takoyaki and Wii challange!

(p.s we had to let Tomo wins cause she had our passports!!!)

So what is Takoyaki?
Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼, Takoyaki?) (literally fried or baked octopus) is a popular Japanese (Osaka) dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, konnyaku, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish shavings), originating from Osaka. There is a similarly named dish called ikayaki but it is a broiled whole squid and bears no resemblance. "Yaki" is derived from "yaku" (焼く, "yaku"?) which simply means "to bake or grill" in Japanese, and can be found in the names of other Japanese cuisine items such as teriyaki or sukiyaki. source:wikipedia

You'll need:
1 2/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cup dashi soup
2 eggs
1/2 lb. boiled octopus, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup dried sakura ebi (prawns)
1/4 cup chopped pickled red ginger
*For toppings:
fried bonito flakes
aonori (green dried seaweed)
takoyaki sauce
mayonnaise

To make:
Mix flour, dashi soup, and eggs in a bowl to make batter. Thickness of the batter should be like potage soup. Put oil inside cups of a takoyaki grill pan. Pour batter into the cups to the full. Put octopus, red ginger, and green onion in each hole. Grill takoyaki balls, turning with a pick. When takoyaki become rounds and brown, remove them from the pan and place in a plate. Put sauce and mayonnaise on takoyaki and sprinkle bonito flakes and aonori on the top. *makes 4 servings