Vegan Takoyaki Recipe (No Octopus)

Takoyaki is built around octopus, so the vegan version swaps in king oyster mushroom, which keeps a firm bite once cooked, and makes the dashi from kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito. The batter, the sauce and the technique stay exactly as they should be. The result is what takoyaki is supposed to be: crisp shell, almost molten centre.

What makes takoyaki work

The batter is much thinner than you expect. Closer to pouring cream than pancake batter. That thinness is what lets the outside set into a shell while the middle stays loose and custardy. A thick batter cooks through and you get a dumpling instead.

You overfill the pan on purpose. Batter goes over the top of the moulds and across the flat surface between them. That overflow is not a mistake, it is the material you tuck back in with the skewer to build a sphere. Filling each mould neatly to the rim gives you half-balls.

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The skewer does the shaping, in stages. You do not flip a takoyaki once. You cut the batter between the moulds, quarter-turn each ball, tuck the overflow underneath, and keep turning every 30 seconds or so until it is round and crisp. It takes a few goes to get a feel for it and the ugly first batch still tastes right.

Dashi, not water. Kombu and dried shiitake give the savoury backbone that bonito normally provides. It takes 15 minutes and it is the difference between takoyaki and fried batter balls. The rehydrated shiitake then goes in as filling, so nothing is wasted.

Vegan Takoyaki Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes
• Total time: 30 minutes
• Serves: 4, about 16 pieces

Ingredients

For the vegan dashi

• 3 pieces kombu, about 5cm each
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons mushroom seasoning powder
• 2 cups water, 500ml

For the batter

• 1 cup plain flour, 125g
• 1¼ cups vegan dashi, 310ml
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon rice vinegar

For the filling

• 1 king oyster mushroom, diced small, or the rehydrated shiitake from the dashi
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons beni shoga, red pickled ginger, chopped
• Vegetable oil, for the pan

To serve

• Vegan takoyaki sauce or vegetarian Bull-Dog sauce
• Vegan mayonnaise
• Aonori, dried green seaweed flakes

Instructions

1. Make the dashi. Put the kombu, dried shiitake and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a bare simmer, then cook 10 minutes. Do not let it boil hard, which turns kombu bitter. Strain, keeping the liquid, and stir the mushroom seasoning into it.
2. Keep the solids. Squeeze out the rehydrated shiitake and dice them small. They are the filling. The kombu can go into a stock or a salad another day.
3. Make the batter. Whisk the flour, baking powder, dashi, soy sauce and vinegar together until smooth. It should be thin, closer to pouring cream than pancake batter. Rest it 5 minutes.
4. Heat the pan. Set the takoyaki pan over medium heat and brush every mould generously with oil, and the flat surface between them too. Do not be shy with it, this is what makes the shell crisp.
5. Fill. Pour the batter into the moulds until it overflows across the whole pan. That overflow is deliberate.
6. Add the filling. Two or three pieces of mushroom into each mould, then scatter the spring onion and beni shoga over the entire pan.
7. Cut and turn. After 3 to 4 minutes, when the bottoms have set, use a wooden skewer to cut the batter between the moulds. Give each ball a quarter turn, tucking the loose batter from the surface underneath as you go.
8. Keep turning. Every 30 seconds or so, another quarter turn, for a further 4 to 5 minutes. They will gradually round out and go golden and crisp.
9. Serve straight away, with takoyaki sauce, a zigzag of vegan mayo and a scatter of aonori. Eat carefully, because the middle is genuinely hot.

Tips

• Use wooden or bamboo skewers rather than chopsticks. The point matters for cutting and lifting.
• Put the mayo in a squeeze bottle. Spooning it on defeats the look and it is the one part of this that is meant to be neat.
• More oil than feels right is correct. It is closer to shallow frying than greasing.
• If the first few come out misshapen, keep going. The batch improves as the pan settles and you get the rhythm of the turning.
• Check the Bull-Dog sauce label. The vegetarian version is a separate product to the standard one.

What to serve it with

Takoyaki is street food, eaten standing up out of a paper tray, so it works best as one of several small things rather than a plate on its own.

• Cold beer or barley tea, which is how it is actually eaten in Osaka
• Japanese vegan okonomiyaki, the same sauce and mayo on a savoury pancake
• Vegan tteokbokki if you are doing a spread of street food
• A sharp cucumber salad, to cut the richness
• Edamame with salt, which needs no explanation

Storing and reheating

In an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They lose their crisp shell within an hour of cooking, which is why they are best eaten standing next to the pan.

To bring them back, the air fryer at 175C for 5 to 8 minutes is much better than a microwave, which turns the shell soft and the inside rubbery. An oven at the same temperature works too, it just takes a little longer.

The batter can be made a few hours ahead and kept in the fridge. Give it a whisk before it goes in the pan, as the flour settles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make takoyaki without a takoyaki pan?

A muffin tin or a Danish aebleskiver pan will give you something close, though not the shape, because you cannot turn a ball in a deep straight-sided mould. A proper takoyaki pan is cheap from an Asian grocer or online and it is the one bit of kit worth buying if you plan to make this more than once.

What can I use instead of octopus?

King oyster mushroom is the best of them. Diced small it keeps a firm, slightly springy bite that is genuinely close. Rehydrated shiitake works and brings more savoury depth. Konjac and plant-based seafood products are the closest in texture if you can get them.

Is takoyaki normally vegan?

No. Standard takoyaki has octopus in it, the dashi is made with bonito flakes, and the bonito flakes on top are fish. All three need swapping, which is what this recipe does.

What is dashi and can I buy vegan dashi?

Dashi is the base stock of most Japanese cooking. The everyday version uses kombu and bonito. Kombu-and-shiitake dashi is a traditional vegan version, called shojin dashi, and instant vegan dashi powder is sold in Japanese grocers. Making it takes 15 minutes and it tastes better.

Why did my takoyaki fall apart when I turned them?

Turned too early. The bottom needs 3 to 4 minutes to set into a shell strong enough to hold the loose middle. If the skewer goes straight through, give it another minute.

Why are mine dense instead of molten inside?

The batter was too thick. It should be noticeably thinner than pancake batter, closer to pouring cream. Add a splash more dashi and try again.

Can I make the batter gluten free?

Yes. A gluten-free plain flour blend works, and rice flour gives an even crisper shell. Also swap the soy sauce for tamari and check the takoyaki sauce, which usually contains wheat.

Can I make it soy free?

Mostly. Coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, and check the takoyaki sauce and the mayonnaise, both of which usually contain soy. The dashi itself is soy free.

Can I bake or air fry them?

You can cook the batter in a muffin tin in the oven, but it is a different dish. Takoyaki gets its texture from turning in oil in a hot pan, and neither the oven nor the air fryer can turn anything.

How many calories are in vegan takoyaki?

It depends almost entirely on the oil in the pan and how much sauce and mayo goes on top, both of which vary a lot. If you need a figure, run your own quantities through a nutrition calculator rather than trusting a number from a recipe page.

The short version

Make the dashi, keep the batter thin, oil the pan more than feels sensible, overfill it on purpose, and turn each ball a quarter at a time with a skewer. The first batch will look wrong and taste right.

• How to make Vegan Takoyaki
• Plant-based Takoyaki
• Vegan Dashi
• Vegan Takoyaki Recipe
• Vegan Takoyaki ingredients