How This Man From Osaka is Making a Community Around Takoyaki in Tokyo

hi welcome to japan by food i'm your host shizuka anderson i am in the center of tokyo today in shibuya right next to the fabulous shopping center hikarie and today's episode is going to be all about takoyaki which is basically translated in english as octopus balls but basically they are flower based batter balls that are filled with cuts of octopus and they are really delicious they are said to have been originated in osaka in 1935 and since some would say they've evolved to become a soul food of osaka and not only in osaka they're also loved all across japan these days you can find octopus balls takoyaki in izakayas street food stands at festivals and also there's a popular chain restaurant called gindako that i'm going to be visiting today and that's a great place to stop by and get some delicious takoyaki and they are known for some seasonal delicious flavors so we're gonna see what they have and later we're gonna go visit a traditional osaka-style takoyaki shop and we're gonna talk with a real osakin to tell us how it's done so without further ado let's go try some takoyaki [Music] all right i have the goods i'm gonna be trying three different types of takoyaki today the first one is gonna be the classic style let's take a look this is our most distinct oh that's just popped open the most standard type of takoyaki it is covered in mayonnaise which is very common for a classic takoyaki a delicious takoyaki sauce as well as bonito flakes and a little bit of dried seaweed called aonori so these would be your typical toppings these are also really popular at parties there's actually something in japan called takopa which is short for takoyaki party so you can actually get a takoyaki maker to cook these at home and they're fun party food let's give it a try itadakimasu but basically it's crispy on the outside which is really nice the inside is nice and doughy not doughy battery and the octopus meat really chewy oh it's so good excellent one thing to note is like takoyaki is not always this crispy i've had a lot of takoyaki that's actually just really soft and battery even the outside is really soft this one i think is a nice um a nice twist like nice crispy and soft combination this is really good um let's move on to another flavor this was the classic all right this is our second takoyaki of the day this is their seasonal takoyaki called yuzu oroshi which is yuzu a japanese traditional citrus fruit and a ponzu which is a little bit of a fruity tasting vinegar i would say so yuzu and ponzu great combination so it's gonna be a little bit on the sour side let's take a look and it has some delicious green onions on top and as an added bonus they have dipping sauces for this one not a common style of for eating takoyaki this is the daiko oroshi it's basically a grated radish japanese radish called daikon so this is our yuzu ponzu sauce that's a beautiful pour just to combine the radish okay here we go delicious green oniony let's give it a dip in the sauce get some daikon radish can you see the inside there's a good chunk of octopus in there and the inside is really battery really juicy and the sauce gives it a really nice acidic flavor and it tastes refreshing because of the yuzu tastes kind of summery very good really good i've never had a takoyaki like this before i think yuzu ponzu style is very original but definitely a really very stark difference from the traditional so it's worth a try really good well let's move on to our third takoyaki today bam the third takoyaki in our last gin dako takoyaki of the day this is one i'm very excited about this is the jojo so basically this is a takoyaki with a teriyaki sauce which i know everybody loves and what's really unique about it is it has eggs on top it's basically um egg salad filling on top covered in teriyaki sauce it looks like aonori dried seaweed and shishimi pepper flakes on top i'm really excited about this because i love eggs so i don't think they can go wrong with this i think japan is probably one of the top three biggest consumers of eggs in the world so this is a country that loves eggs and i think this is a good representation of japan's love for takoyaki and eggs and teriyaki whoa the egg there's so much egg on this and there's still a few bonita flakes so it's got the classic toppings let's see how it tastes itadakimasu i don't even know how to eat this this might be my favorite out of the three the egg is so creamy and the inside is fluffy and battery you can enjoy the umami of the bonito flakes as well it's a great combo i'm just gonna go eat it one bite here we go this is really good it keeps the crisp of the outer shell the inside is so soft and delicious there's plenty of umami and the eggs add this creaminess and this is not a seasonal flavor so you can get this any time of the year if you come to gui deco so these were three really delicious flavors from gin deco which is a popular chain restaurant in japan as i mentioned but it's a widely known fact that tokyo takoyaki and osaka original takoyaki is quite different so i'm very excited to go check out our next shop which is run by a real osakin takoyaki chef and i'm going to see what the difference is between a tokyo style classic takoyaki and an osaka style one so let's go check it out all right we are here this is the osaka style takoyaki shop called daikayama tempu and basically this is a standing bar and takoyaki shop which is located in shibuya daikayama area in a quieter side street and i've actually walked by this place quite a few times and i've never noticed it so let's take a look inside [Music] [Music] foreign um foreign foreign [Music] [Music] yeah take a look at the takoyaki there's some dancing katsuobushi bonito flakes and aonori dried seaweed and of course mayonnaise on top this is the classic style but all of the ingredients he says are from osaka because he loves osaka and i asked him what is the difference between tokyo and osaka style takoyaki and he says why don't you give it a try so i'm gonna give it a try and see if i can taste the difference here we go itadakimasu that is very hot oh my goodness it is creamy i think that's the biggest difference that i get so far the inside is so so creamy um very soft very doughy and delicious and of course the the takoyaki is nice and chewy but it's even softer than the one that we had at hindako it's totally different wow that was so amazing um and i think i've discovered what the difference between osaka and tokyo is so this is actually the most famous takoyaki here at this shop this is the olive oil and salt takoyaki and it was originally introduced the idea was introduced by the editor-in-chief of a very popular food magazine in osaka who suggested that this combination be perfect with his style of takoyaki so let's give this a try itadakimasu so hot and delicious cycle there's so the the flavor completely changes with the olive oil and salt seasoning i think the salt brings out the flavor of the batter a whole lot more i get the impression that it's kind of like eating soft doughy buns never tasted anything like this it's definitely a one-of-a-kind takoyaki and this looks so so good you guys and it's so doughy it's starting to fall apart in my chopsticks but that's how they like it in osaka fluffy and gooey that looks so good so it's a black uh which is like the japanese pepper but it's black i've never had this before so let's give it a try here we go this is amazing the black meme it has a really amazing spice to it but it tastes a little bit um richer deeper in flavor than a traditional chichami and it goes so well with the creamy mayonnaise it balances out the spiciness so it doesn't feel overpowering it is a beautiful creamy and spicy combination i'm a huge fan of this one that is so good and again one of their top-selling takoyakis very popular with the ladies apparently but i think anybody would enjoy this especially if you like spice um so good okay so i've tried three osaka styles and original flavors of takoyaki here today and i've left with a story that i never expected to get here and if you guys ever come to tokyo this is a definitely a must stop by shop you can stand here drink enjoy the company of wonderful people and of course our wonderful takoyaki master and yeah i think i've learned a very important lesson about the difference between tokyo and osaka takoyaki they're both delicious different styles but i think the message here is there's a lot of heart that goes into osaka soul food which is takoyaki so anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this video and i hope you definitely do combine and thank you so much sakura this was such a wonderful experience um thank you so much thank you and see you guys in the next episode of japan by food bye [Music]

Channel: Japan by Food

Views: 70,610

Rating: 4.970439 out of 5

Keywords: takoyaki, tokyo style takoyaki, osaka style takoyaki, gindaco, shibuya, daikanyama, shibuya takoyaki, daikanyama takoyaki, tokyo, tokyo takoyaki, japan, japanese food, japanese street food, japanese street food takoyaki, how to make takoyaki, たこ焼き, street food, japanese takoyaki, octopus balls, takoyaki maker, japanese cuisine, best takoyaki, eating takoyaki, gindaco takoyaki, takoyaki master, gindaco japan, takoyaki gindaco, gindaco restaurant, eating takoyaki balls

Id: 63hLISoMhKg

Length: 14min 42sec (882 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 28 2021