Takoyaki

Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made from a wheat flour batter cooked in a molded pan, typically eaten as a snack between meals. It originated in Osaka, credited to street vendor Tomekichi Endo, who invented it in 1935 by combining earlier snacks such as choboyaki and radioyaki with akashiyaki, an egg-rich octopus snack from the city of Akashi. Each ball is filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion, cooked in a cast iron pan with hemispherical molds and turned with a pick so the uncooked batter flows to the base of each cavity, then topped with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, dried green laver and shavings of dried bonito. Long associated with yatai street food stalls, takoyaki has since spread to supermarkets and convenience stores throughout Japan.