Taiyaki
Taiyaki (たい焼き): fish-shaped waffle cakes filled with sweet red bean
Taiyaki were first sold in 1909 at a Tokyo street stall that still exists in Azabu-Jūban, shaped like sea bream because the fish was a luxury eaten at celebrations. Today vendors at winter festivals and shopping streets across Japan press batter into fish-shaped iron moulds, fill them with sweet bean paste and turn them out golden and crisp-edged. Contains egg, milk and wheat. You need a taiyaki pan. The common mistake is overfilling, which makes the bean paste burst through the seams and burn; keep the filling a finger's width from the edges. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes, which gives a thinner, crisper shell.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the batter
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 oz sugar
- 1 eggmedium
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oilplus extra for the pan
For the filling
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Whisk 5 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 oz sugar in a bowl. Beat 1 egg with ¾ cup milk and 1 tbsp vegetable oil, then whisk into the flour until smooth. Rest for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Divide 11 ½ oz chunky sweet red bean paste (tsubuan) into 8 portions of 40 g and shape into flat ovals.
Step 3: Heat the taiyaki pan over a medium-low heat on both sides for 2 minutes and brush the moulds with oil.
2 minStep 4: Fill each fish mould about 60% full with batter, place a bean oval in the middle, then pour a little more batter over to cover.
Step 5: Close the pan at once and cook for 2–3 minutes, then flip and cook for 2–3 minutes more, until both sides are deep golden. Open to check; trim any overflow with scissors.
5 minStep 6: Turn out onto a rack and serve hot, while the shell is crisp. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does taiyaki take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Yaki onigiriGrilled rice balls
Yaki onigiri (焼きおにぎり) are rice balls grilled until they form a crisp, toasty crust, then brushed with soy sauce glaze. They are eaten all over Japan, at izakaya, at barbecues and from the freezer section, as a snack or with miso soup. The inside stays soft and steamy while the outside crackles. Best eaten hot, straight from the pan. Chef's tip: let the shaped rice balls dry for 10 minutes before they go in the pan. A drier surface forms a better crust and won't stick, and the glaze goes on only at the end so it doesn't burn.