How to prepare octopus balls powder

Octopus balls are a very famous snack and can be seen in the streets and alleys of many cities. You can always see many fans gathering in front of the stalls. Although octopus balls are made and sold on the spot, the production process is far from as easy as imagined. If not done properly, it can easily affect the taste. Some enthusiasts have eaten octopus balls and think they are delicious, and they also want to make them by themselves, but they are troubled about how to mix the powder for octopus balls?

In my opinion, this thing is essentially similar to the Hutazi pancake we have in the north - add ingredients to the batter and fry it. But even such a small meatball embodies the characteristics of Japanese cuisine, such as the diversity of ingredients, with a little bit of everything; the use of seafood; and the beautiful shape, unlike us who just make a pancake.

Learn to make it at home, find a recipe, and pay attention to the following points to make a very authentic taste——

First, the batter. In addition to flour, the batter of authentic takoyaki should contain yam powder or yam paste. The finished "takoyaki powder" sold on the market also contains yam powder, which should be a major feature of takoyaki.

Secondly, the seafood in the side dishes should be fresh octopus. If you can’t buy it, you can use squid, octopus, octopus and other octopus with suckers and tentacles instead. As long as they are fresh, the taste is not much different. I think squid cake tastes the best.

The third thing is the shape. To fry the takoyaki balls into crispy outside and tender inside, you need a special takoyaki mold. I haven't seen it sold on the market, but I found a lot of it online. If I really like it, I'll buy one. Otherwise just fry it into pancakes.

Finally, seasoning. Takoyaki itself has no taste, and the flavor depends entirely on the seasonings sprinkled on it at the end, the most important of which is teriyaki sauce. You can buy it at the supermarket, or you can make it yourself (recipe here ), and everything else is available, and it’s always better than what you get at a food stall.

Ingredients

100g low-gluten flour, 50g yam, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 270ml water

2 tablespoons octopus (squid) cubes, 2 tablespoons cabbage cubes, 1 tablespoon onion cubes, a little peanut oil

Japanese teriyaki sauce, salad dressing, shredded seaweed, bonito flakes, appropriate amounts

Methods/Steps

1 Wash and peel the yam and grind it into paste. If you don’t have this tool, you can use a grater;

2Sieve the low-gluten flour and put it into a bowl together with the yam paste and eggs;

3Add water and baking powder, stir well, and sift once;

4 Pour the batter into a container with a spout (for easy pouring into the mold) and set it aside. You can prepare other materials at this time.

5. Wash the octopus (squid) (I used squid and peeled off the skin), blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds, remove and cool;

6. Cut octopus (squid) into small pieces;

7. Dice the cabbage;

8. Dice onions;

9Evenly coat the takoyaki pan with peanut oil;

10 Heat the mold over high heat, then turn to low heat and pour the batter into the mold until it is about 80% to 90% full;

11 Sprinkle octopus (squid) cubes, onion cubes, and cabbage cubes in each meatball, and use a bamboo stick to push the ingredients sprinkled on the outside into the meatball;

12 Fry over low heat for a while, use a bamboo stick to gently pick the edge of the meatballs, check that the bottom is hardened, then use a bamboo stick to turn the meatballs over to let the batter flow down;

13 Turn it over again, with the bottom facing up, and the meatball is formed;

14 Continue frying, stirring the meatballs several times in the middle to ensure that they are evenly heated, until they are golden brown on both sides;

How to make octopus balls

15 Pick out the meatballs and place them on a plate, sprinkle them with teriyaki sauce first (recipe here);

How to make octopus balls

16 Sprinkle salad dressing;

17 Next is the shredded seaweed (you can cut the seaweed sheets into pieces);

How to make octopus balls

18Finally , it’s the wooden fish flower. The light and elegant wooden fish flower dances gracefully under the heat of the meatballs——

Precautions

1. The water-flour ratio of the batter is very important for the taste of the meatballs - it should not be too thick or too thin. If it is too thick, the meatballs will be hard, and if it is too thin, it will be difficult to pick a round shape. My formula has been precisely weighed, but the water absorption of flour varies. The water content of different varieties of yam and in different seasons is also different, so it should be fine-tuned according to the situation.

2. I used iron stick yam, 50g is the weight after peeling. There should be some damage after grinding into paste, which can be ignored. The main purpose of sifting the batter is to crush the clumping flour, so the filtered yam crumbs should be poured back.

3. Whether you are using octopus, squid or other types of seafood, the blanching time should be short, just until the fish is cooked. If it is overcooked, it will not taste good.

4. A small amount of baking powder is used in the ingredients, which should be necessary. I tried not adding it, and also tried beating the egg whites, but the results were not good. Feel free to use aluminum-free baking powder.

5. Finally, don’t be too greedy when adding ingredients. Adding too many ingredients will make it look ugly and affect the taste.

(Note: I didn’t have time to take a photo of the dish in the process picture because my child snatched it away from the camera.)