Prepare plenty of chicken stock in advance and keep it on hand. (ID:17590910) You can also use instant chicken bouillon granules.

Combine the batter ingredients and mix with cooled chicken stock. Beat the eggs well before adding.

The batter is ready. If there are lumps, strain through a sieve. Lumps will make the batter taste floury, so be careful! The batter should be very thin.

Cut the octopus into large pieces, about 1/2 inch (1.5cm) each. Aim for about 0.14 oz (4g) per piece. The octopus will shrink as it cooks, so cut it a bit larger! The octopus also adds flavor to the batter.

Make the dipping broth. Bring 2 cups (500ml) water to a boil, then reduce the heat and add 1 oz (30g) bonito flakes. Skim off any foam and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, strain the broth through a sieve and squeeze out the bonito flakes well. (You can save the bonito flakes to use as a topping! ID:17590894)

Return the strained dashi to the pot, add mirin, light soy sauce, and salt, and bring to a gentle boil. The dipping broth is ready!

Preheat a takoyaki pan thoroughly and generously oil all the wells. Use medium-high heat.

Pour plenty of batter into the wells, then add the octopus pieces. Stir the batter well before pouring. Keep the heat at medium-high throughout.

After a short while, use chopsticks to gently turn the dumplings. Be careful not to crush them—they are very soft.

Once cooked, they're ready! Warm the dipping broth ahead of time.

Add green onions and mitsuba to the broth and serve with the soft Akashiyaki!

For Kansai-style takoyaki, see Recipe ID:17591746

For okonomiyaki, see Recipe ID:19037221

April 23, 2011

This recipe became a trending topic! Thank you so much.

Watch the video tutorial here:

http://youtu.be/V1VmBWwKJxE