Takoyaki and Japan

We love all things Japanese. I particularly love the food (naturally) and the ceramics. But after a visit to Hokkaido, Japan in Dec 2008, I also love onsens (hot springs). I am reminiscing the holiday that we had. It was surreal sitting in an outdoor hot tub (heated to 42 degree Celcious) with a Japanese garden around you mildly covered in snow, while snowflakes continue to fall.

And the food was superb. Hokkaido is well known for its seafood so we had alot of king crabs, scallops and sushi while we were there. We then stopped by Tokyo for two nights on our journey home. The photo above of a takoyaki street vendor was taken outside Asakusa (Old Town Tokyo). Tako (octopus) yaki (grill) is octopus mixed in a batter and grilled on a special hot plate. The shape is round and is normally drizzled with a sweet sauce and mayonaise and ten topped with bonito (fish) flakes.

So I made some takoyaki for starters last night. When I say 'made', I have to say all the things I used were premade and came frozen or in a bottle. I am not ashamed to say that I use premade stuff sometimes as a short cut. It was after all a Tuesday night and I had worked all day.

There is a Japanese grocery and sushi place called Suzuran in Camberwell (Melbourne, Aus) where you will find all your Japanese cooking needs. The takoyaki comes frozen in a pack of 50 (costs about $15) and the sauce I use is the Bull-Dog Brand Tonkatsu sauce. You can also purchase the bonito flake and Japanese mayonaise there.

So I always keep a packet of takoyaki handy. Take out a dozen at a time and deep fry them till they are golden. Then drizzle some sauce and top with bonito flakes. MMmm...yummy. I omitted the mayo since crispy pork belly was the main course. I think the pork will provide enough fat and cholesterol for the night.