Japanese · snack

Takoyaki (たこ焼き)

Name: Takoyaki (たこ焼き)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour; 2 cups dashi; 2 eggs; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 6 oz cooked octopus pieces; 2 tbsp pickled ginger, minced; 1/4 cup tempura scraps; 3 scallions, sliced; 3 tbsp takoyaki sauce; 3 tbsp Japanese mayo; 1 tsp aonori; 1/4 cup bonito flakes

Takoyaki (たこ焼き) reads umami 7.0, salinity 6.0 and marine & briny 4.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Japanese snack, about 25 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 8.4 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.6 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.9 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.0 / 10
Rich & Fat — 3.3 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 2.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.0 · Salinity 6.0 · Marine & Briny 4.6 · Sweetness 4.4 · Funk & Ferment 3.1 · Sourness 2.9 · Richness 2.8 · Herbaceous 2.1 · Nutty 1.7 · Allium 1.7 · Floral 1.0 · Earthy 0.9 · Fruity 0.8 · Bitterness 0.5

What's in it (12)

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups dashi
2 eggs
1 tbsp soy sauce
6 oz cooked octopus pieces
2 tbsp pickled ginger, minced
1/4 cup tempura scraps
3 scallions, sliced
3 tbsp takoyaki sauce
3 tbsp Japanese mayo
1 tsp aonori
1/4 cup bonito flakes

Time & effort: about 25 min (20 min active) · effort: easy

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 177.5 kcal, 10.5 g protein, 6.8 g fat, 18.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Prepare a thin batter from flour, dashi, eggs, and soy sauce and pour into a preheated, oiled takoyaki pan.
Place octopus, ginger, tempura scraps, and scallions in each mold and turn with picks as the batter sets to form spherical balls.
Top with sauce, mayo, aonori, and dancing bonito flakes.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Pissaladière — French · Provence
Shrimp Tempura Donburi — Japanese
Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-Fry — Chinese-American
Vietnamese Caramelized Salmon and Rice Bowls — Vietnamese
Spam Musubi — American · Hawaiian

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, marine & briny mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.