Did you know that you can easily enjoy vegan Japanese takoyaki in the comfort of your own home? This Japanese street food is fun to make and can be enjoyed along with your friends and family. If you want to know how I made this iconic Osaka street food vegan, continue on reading. You'll see how easy it is, and how accessible the ingredients are.
What is takoyaki?
Takoyaki, a popular Japanese street food, that originated in Osaka. Tako means octopus and yaki means grill or fry. They're little round balls that are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. Filled with batter, chunks of octopus, ginger, and green onions. Then cooked over a very special pan that gives them that rounded shape. Thankfully, you don't need to travel to Osaka to try takoyaki. They're found everywhere in Japan, and even around North America. The only thing is that most of them won't be vegan friendly, and that's what I'll be showing you today.
What is vegan Japanese takoyaki made of?
Takoyaki requires a few ingredients, and a specialized pan. It's worth it if you enjoy takoyaki as much as I do.
Here's what you need:
- Vegan Dashi - Japanese soup stock. This is what gives the batter it's umami flavor. It's quite easy to make, the only thing you need to make vegan dashi is dried kombu (edible kelp) and dried shiitake mushrooms. Boil it in some water to extract the flavor.
- All Purpose Flour - To make the batter
- Baking powder - To bind everything together
- Soy sauce - Just to add some extra flavor
- Rice vinegar - To activate the baking powder
- Green onions - Adds freshness and flavor
- Beni shōga (Japanese red pickled ginger) - Adds nice that tangy flavor
- Dried shiitake mushrooms - This is what I like to use to replace the octopus. It's chewy and gives it more of an umami flavor. I usually take the shiitake mushrooms that I made the vegan dashi with.
Vegan Japanese takoyaki tips and tricks:
- If you're intimidated to make takoyaki, work on a lower heat. That way the takoyaki won't burn quickly, and you can focus on cooking them properly.
- Use lots of oil. This is what's going to make the outside crispy.
- Use two skewers to help you flip them over. I use long wooden skewers as the go underneath and through the takoyaki easily. I wouldn't use chopsticks because they're bigger, and it'll be harder to use.
- Don't be afraid of overfilling the pan. Professional takoyaki vendors always overfill the wells of the pan. You'll eventually tuck in the excess batter underneath and it'll sitll cook up a perfectly round dumpling.
- Be careful when eating them because their insides will be very hot!
What sauces do we use?
Normally, takoyaki is doused in takoyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise. However, I just used regular vegan mayonnaise and Japanese Bull Dog Tonkatsu sauce, which is accidentally vegan. Call me extra, but I like pouring some of my mayonnaise in a squeezy bottle. Just so that I can get that nice drizzle over the top of the takoyaki. Then to finish it off, I sprinkle a bit of furikake and serve!
I'm definitely not a takoyaki master, but I do find it kind of calming to make a perfectly round takoyaki. I find it fun to use when I have some company over. You can channel your inner Japanese street vendor, and amaze your friends with your new takoyaki skills. Making takoyaki definitely makes me miss traveling to Japan. Hopefully one day we can all travel again!
If you loved this vegan Japanese takoyaki, check these recipes out:
If you’d tried this recipe out let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe and don’t forget to tag me when you create my recipes! Itadakimasu!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Takoyaki (Japanese "Octopus" Balls)
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Mesh Sieve
- Mixing bowl
- Chopping Board
- Chef's knife
- Whisk
- Wooden skewers
Ingredients
Vegan Dashi:
- 3 kombu (2-inch pieces)
- 4 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 teaspoon mushroom seasoning ()
- 2 cups water
Takoyaki recipe:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup vegan dashi
- ½ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- green onion
- Beni shōga (red pickled ginger)
- Rehydrated shiitake from the dashi
Sauce toppings:
- Vegan mayonnaise (see notes)
- Vegetarian Bull-Dog Sauce
Instructions
Making the dashi:
- In a small saucepan, combine the dried kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms, and water.
- Place over medium-low heat, allow it to come to a slight boil (not a complete boil, and not a simmer), and cook for 10 minutes.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, drain the dashi into a bowl. Remove the kombu, and save it for another recipe. Use the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, to fill your takoyaki!
Making the takoyaki
- Cut up the rehydrated shiitake into small chunks, finely chop up the green onions and red pickled ginger. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, 1 ¼ cup of vegan dashi, rice vinegar, , and soy sauce. Mix until well combined. You are looking for a thin batter.
- Pre-heat the takoyaki pan over medium-low heat. Generously brush the entire pan, the cavities and the flat areas with oil.
- When the pan is hot, pour the batter to fill up all the cavities. It's totally fine if it overflows!
- Start by adding in about 2-3 pieces of shiitake mushrooms into each cavity of batter, then sprinkle in the green onions, and then the red pickled ginger. It's totally fine if they're sprinkled all over the pan, it'll all get cooked and combined together.
- Cook the bottoms for about 3-4 minutes. Use a wooden skewer to break the connected batter between each well.
- Use the wooden skewers to flip it over and stuff the edges into itself as you're turning. Let it cook for about another 1-2 minutes. Continue to do this until you have a nice round shape and the outside is nice and crispy and golden.
- Transfer the takoyaki balls on to a plate, pour the Bull-Dog sauce, mayonnaise, and top it off with some aonori or furikake. Serve immediately, but be careful they will be hot inside!
Notes
- Call me extra, but I like to pour some of the mayonnaise into a squeezy bottle, so I can easily drizzle it over the tops.
- You can find all, if not most, of these ingredients at any Asian grocery store!
- Skewers are easier to use to flip the takoyaki as it cooks. Chopsticks are too fat to poke through and will make it hard to flip.
- Unfortunately, you can't make takoyaki without the special pan. If you have a Japanese specialty store near you, you can probably find a pan in there. I got mine in San Antonio, Texas when I was visiting. But you can also order it online.
Amy Do says
I’m intrigued! Can this work with an ebelskivvers pan or a cake-pop pan? I’m a huge fan of vegan okonomiyaki and vegan yakisoba, but as I’ve never made either from scratch before, is the Bulldog sauce versatile enough to use on these other dishes? Or would you recommend going the other way and using a more savory sauce for versatility? Also, I noticed that on your okonomiyaki recipe you recommended augmenting the vegan mayo. Do you recommend it as well for this dish?
Floured Frame says
I think those pans will work with making takoyaki, as long as they can be placed over a stovetop, then you are good to go! Bulldog sauce is versatile enough to use on other dishes, but I prefer using it on Japanese dishes. And yes, I do suggest augmenting the vegan mayo for this recipe too. When I wrote this recipe, I wasn't sure if most folks would want to make their own Japanese vegan mayo, so I left it out. But feel free to use it on this recipe!
Elizabeth M says
The recipe looks amazing but I can't find a red pickled ginger that doesn't have dyes, artificial sweetener or excessive levels of sodium. Any suggestions? I'm inexperienced on this type of product but I have a sodium restriction & am intolerant to red dye &artificial sweeteners.
Floured Frame says
Hi! So Japanese red pickled ginger doesn't use red dyes, it gets that red color from red perilla leaf, which is added in the pickling solution. But as an alternative, you can look for organic sushi ginger from the brand The Ginger People, its very low in sodium and doesn't contain red dye.
Roses says
I LOVED this recipe! It worked amazingly well and I was able to whip up an impressive batch for my vegan-&-non-vegan mixed household. My only piece of advice for a newbie is to try not to over-fill the pan; I was too loosy-goosy with my ladle on the first pour and it was extra stressful trying to unstick all the half-cooking batter balls from each other. Like the recipe says, a little over-spill is totally fine & easy to work with, just try not to flood the top. Excellent and delicious, I can't wait to start trying new things with this like swapping out the filling for other flavors!
PeterOz says
eggscellent alternative recipe, thanks