Vegan Takoyaki Recipe - Veganiac (2024)

by Emily

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Vegan Takoyaki Recipe – Have you ever considered you can enjoy in Vegan version of this Japanese Takoyaki recipe? I’ve always liked vegan takoyaki, and now I’m sharing how I’ve made this popular Japanese streetfood vegan!

Vegan Takoyaki Recipe

A traditional snack from Japan, takoyaki is a ball-shaped dumpling with a piece of octopus inside. The food is usually served with a takoyaki sauce, similar to a Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise, although some serve the dish with a different variety of sauces.

In this article, I’ll share a recipe for a vegan version of traditional Japanese food. Also, be sure to check the whole article for the best results in preparing Vegan Takoyaki Recipe. Enjoy reading!

Vegan Takoyaki Recipe - Veganiac (1)

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Preparation Time: 15 min

Cooking Time: 15 min

Total Time: 30 min

Servings: 16 pieces

Ingredients

Ingredients of Vegan Dashi:

  • Kombu – 3 pieces (2–inch)
  • Dried Shiitake Mushrooms – 4 pieces
  • Mushroom Seasoning – 2 tsp
  • Water – 2 cups

Ingredients for Vegan Takoyaki recipe:

  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Vegan dashi – 1 ¼ cup
  • Rice vinegar or White Vinegar – ½ tsp
  • Baking Powder – 1 tsp
  • Soy Sauce – 1 tsp
  • Green Onion
  • Beni shōga (red pickled ginger)
  • Shiitake dashi

Ingredients for Sauce toppings:

  • Vegan mayonnaise
  • Vegetarian Bull-Dog Sauce

Directions

Instructions to prepare the dashi:

  1. Take a saucepan and put in dried kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms. Add water and switch on medium flame. When it comes to boil (slightly), give it 10 more min to cook.
  2. Use a mesh sieve and drain the water. Separate the dashi in a bowl. Take out kombu and keep it aside for another recipe.
  3. For takoyaki fillings, use rehydrated shiitake mushrooms.

Instructions for preparing the takoyaki

  1. Bread the rehydrate shiitake mushroom into small chunky pieces. Chop the green onions and Beni shōga. Keep it aside for later use.
  2. Take a bowl, add flour, baking powder, vegan dashi, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Mix them well until they are well incorporated. Make a thin batter.
  3. On medium flame, preheat the takoyaki pan. Brush the pan with oil.
  4. On the heated pan, pour the batter in the cavities. If it overflows, it is fine.
  5. Add two to three pieces of shiitake mushroom in the cavities filled with batter. Sprinkle some green onions and Beni shōga. You may sprinkle them all over the pan.
  6. For three to four minutes, cook the downsides. With the help of a wooden skewer, cut the connections among batters.
  7. Using the same wooden skewer, change the side and stuff the edges. Cooking time at this step is one to two minutes. Keep repeating the process until it is all cooked and turns crispy.
  8. Empty these takoyaki balls on the serving plate and top it with Bull-Dog sauce, mayonnaise, and aonori.
  9. Serve it hot and eat it carefully as it may burn your tongue.

Cooking Tips & Recipe Variations

  • Use mayonnaise while filling it in the squeezy bottle. So, you can pour it a little easily.
  • All the ingredients can easily be hopped from local stores, if not any, found at Asian grocery stores.
  • Use wooden skewers for flipping the takoyaki as they make it easy. Don’t use Chopsticks as they make it hard.
  • Don’t use a special pan for the takoyaki. Find the takoyaki pan in the nearby Japanese store. You may shop online.
  • Cooking takoyaki on medium heat will allow it to cook properly.
  • Using a lot of oil is good for making the outsides crispy.

FAQs

Which sauces are recommended for Takoyaki?

Takoyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise are well suited with takoyaki, however, those are not vegan. You can use regular vegan mayonnaise or this amazing Vegan Tartar Sauce and Bull-Dog sauce.

Is Takoyaki a Japanese food?

Yes, it is Japanese food. Street foods are always trendy. ‘Tako’ stands for octopus and ‘yaki’ refers to grill or fry.

They are round in shape and crispy in texture. Pan used for cooking takoyaki is a special pan designed for it.

How does Vegan Takoyaki differ from original takoyaki?

The Vegan Takoyaki recipe differs in many ways like the original recipe contains katsuobushi. Also, the instant takoyaki batter contains non-vegan dashi in it.

You have to replace eggs while making the batter for vegans. And of course, Octopus is used in the traditional takoyaki and here you use mushrooms or other alternatives.

Nutritional Value

You will get 170 kcal of calories, 28 grams of carbs, 4 grams of sugar, 5 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat per serving.

Conclusion

The vegan takoyaki recipe is a fun, delicious, and super simple dish to serve at any party. This recipe is very easy to follow, and you can have it in the oven in no time!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and you’ll give it a try and let us know how it goes by leaving a comment! If you try them, be sure to tag us on social media.

We enjoy scrolling your feedback and replying to you. Feel free to suggest us recipe for the next article.

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Vegan Takoyaki Recipe - Veganiac (2024)

FAQs

What is takoyaki batter made of? ›

It's a mixture of Japanese stock Dashi, all-purpose flour, baking powder, eggs, salt, and soy sauce. If you don't want to make the batter from scratch, you can find takoyaki mix in Japanese grocery stores or Amazon.

What is takoyaki without octopus called? ›

If we traced back to the origins of takoyaki, we'd find radio-yaki, a dish made by Osaka restaurant Aizuya. Radio-yaki is the same kind of flour-based dumpling as takoyaki, but filled with sinewy beef instead of octopus.

What sauce do they put on takoyaki? ›

The blend of fruity, tangy worcestershire sauce and aromatic kombu/soy flavours in mentsuyu give takoyaki sauce a delicious umami kick. Takoyaki sauce is a little sweeter than other Japanese brown sauces, offsetting the saltiness of crispy golden fried takoyaki balls perfectly!

Is takoyaki healthy? ›

Takoyaki or “octopus balls”, are not an especially healthy snack compared to other snacks of the region. They are generally high in carbs and deep-fried, causing a dual dietary dilemma to healthy eaters everywhere.

What is the flaky stuff on takoyaki? ›

Bonito flakes - known as katsuobushi in Japanese - are a strange food upon first sight. They are known to move or dance when used as a topping on foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki.

Why is my takoyaki not crispy? ›

When all your takoyaki are ball-shaped, pour a drizzle of oil onto the hotplate in-between the takoyaki - enough that the oil goes into the holes under the takoyaki. This makes the surface of the takoyaki crispy as they actually fry in the oil. Keep turning balls until they are crispy and golden.

What does the word takoyaki mean? ›

Tako means octopus, and yaki indicates the cooking method, in this case, pan-frying. Sometimes called “octopus balls” in English, takoyaki is made of a takoyaki batter infused with dashi (dried kelp and bonito flakes) filled with diced octopus meat, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion.

What does yaki mean in Japanese? ›

The word "yaki" (meaning, basically, "cooked over direct. heat") shows up in the names of many well-known Japanese dishes. Some of the best known include teriyaki (meat or tofu cooked in a glistening. glaze), yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), sukiyaki (a shallow pan.

What can I put in takoyaki instead of octopus? ›

If you don't want to use octopus in your takoyaki, here are some alternative filling ideas you could try:
  1. Cheese.
  2. Konjac.
  3. Sausage.
  4. Ham.
  5. Cabbage.
  6. Kimchi.
  7. Chikuwa (Fish cake)
  8. Shrimp.

What does tako mean in takoyaki? ›

From tako, meaning octopus, and yaki, meaning grilled, takoyaki are a savory seafood dumpling hailing from Osaka, Japan.

What can I put inside takoyaki? ›

If you don't have tenkasu, substitute with rice krispies, or panko breadcrumbs! As for the toppings, feel free to experiment with whatever you want to put in! I've had takoyaki with bacon, cabbage, corn, cheese, and even hotdogs lol. The world is your ball!

What was the original flavor of takoyaki? ›

The first takoyaki included beef and konjac, but later Endo switched to using the now traditional octopus and added flavor to the batter. The takoyaki are then eaten with brown sauce, similar to Worcestershire sauce.

What is in takoyaki Dubai? ›

It is made of a wheat flour-based batter and is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. Takoyaki is also brushed with takoyaki sauce, similar to Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise.

Why is takoyaki so delicious? ›

Takoyaki is pleasantly soft. The batter on the outside has a delicate crispiness, but on the inside, it is soft and moist. The tender octopus meat serves to give a variance in texture, but it's still easy to chew and makes for an overall enjoyable mouth feel. The texture itself is part of what makes takoyaki iconic.

Is takoyaki supposed to be gooey inside? ›

When people eat takoyaki, they are often surprised by its texture: is takoyaki supposed to be mushy? The answer is yes, it's supposed to be a little runny and gooey inside. The gooeyness is what most vendors strive for because it adds to the uniqueness of takoyaki.

What is in the middle of takoyaki? ›

Takoyaki are a kind of dumpling, made from grilled puffs of seasoned batter with a small piece of octopus meat in the middle, with sauces and seasonings scattered along the top. Serve these bite-size pieces of heaven at parties or enjoy them as warming snacks.

What are bonito flakes made of? ›

And if you are wondering what are dried bonito flakes, they are just dried, smoked, and fermented fish fillets. Now, you may be asking yourself: What exactly do I do with this ingredient? Katsuobushi is used as a flavorful addition in multiple Japanese dishes, including as a zesty rice topping.

Is octopus in takoyaki chewy? ›

There's a bite of chewy octopus in the center engulfed by light and airy batter. It's smothered in sauce, topped with wiggling katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and sprinkled with aonori (seaweed flakes).

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