Savory, sweet, and with a succulent piece of octopus in the center, takoyaki is one of Osaka’s most iconic (and delicious) street food treats. But is takoyaki for kids?
During our visit to Osaka, we not only found amazing takoyaki. We figured out 3 simple alternate versions that got our kids hungry for takoyaki.
Watch this video for how we adapted takoyaki for our kids
Over on our free Learners and Makers YouTube channel, you can find out how our family introduced takoyaki to our kids. You can also see how we came up with some kid-friendly adaptations the made takoyaki more approachable—with one reaction from the kids that surprised us.
Video highlights
During our month in Osaka, we not only found amazing takoyaki spots. We figured out three simple alternate versions that got our kids hungry for takoyaki, and one was a huge surprise.
Our love of takoyaki began with our first trip to Japan in 2013
Our first takoyaki adventure began on our first trip to Osaka in 2013. At the time, Connor was only a toddler, but Japanese food fascinated him. Stopping by a takoyaki vendor near the grounds of Osaka Castle, we snagged a pack of fresh, hot from the pan takoyaki. Connor even had a go with the octopus, though at the time it was too chewy for him.
When we returned to Osaka as a family of four, complete with an 8 year old and 11 year old, we were ready for the kids to get to know the wonders of takoyaki.
You can find tasty, affordable takoyaki all over Osaka
Fortunately, Osaka makes it easy. Since takoyaki is such a beloved treat, you can find takoyaki spots throughout the city. Near our townhouse in the Sumiyoshi Temple area, our go-to takoyaki spot was a small shop underneath Kohama Station. (Hint: They also served up excellent okonomiyaki, but that can be an entire other video.)
From street stalls to the food court at the Kyocera dome during an Orix Buffaloes baseball game, we sampled takoyaki throughout Osaka.
And the kids liked it… mostly.
The problem isn’t octopus; it’s not being used to octopus
Our kids loved the bready, hot batter. And the sumptuous mayo. Not to mention the tang of the sauce.
But what they didn’t like?
Yup. You guessed it. The octopus.
They wanted to like it. But they just weren’t there yet with the texture.
That happens. Getting to know and like different foods is a journey, a process. It can take multiple tries to like something different from what you know.
Fortunately, a bit of vacation rental serendipity showed us another way to keep takoyaki in our lives.
What is takoyaki and how do you make it? (+ recipes)
If you want to make takoyaki at home, takoyaki is similar to a popover. You make a batter, and cook it in special pan that’s constructed with semispherical divots. In goes the batter, in goes your octopus, and you cook, turning the takoyaki about halfway through cooking.
Takoyaki recipes
Here are 3 takoyaki recipes we’ve found useful:
- Just One Cookbook: Takoyaki Recipe (Video) たこ焼き
- Japan Centre: Takoyaki octopus balls
- Food Network: Takoyaki
Takoyaki flour is easy. It’s available throughout Japanese grocery stores, especially in Osaka.
Takoyaki pan
There’s just the matter of the pan.
It turns out that our vacation rental had an electric plug-in takoyaki maker.
We then had not one, but two takoyaki nights. Through them, we figured out that takoyaki can be kid friendly. We also found a way to the kids could enjoy takoyaki so they can continue building toward the octopus.
There are lots of stovetop and plugin takoyaki pans available too, btw:
3 kid friendly ways to make takoyaki at home
Here are the three alternatives we used. Our kids ate them up, though one was a huge surprise.
1. Shrimp
Small shrimp are your friend here. You can also get pre-cooked shrimp, just add them right before you flip so they don’t get rubbery. We found that shrimp were a great step forward on our children’s takoyaki journey. The texture is adjacent to octopus, but less chewy. If your kids aren’t into shrimp, you could try a small piece of diced chicken.
2. Cheese
Cheese is a much-loved food in our lives. When in Japan, we occasionally seek out a bit of cheese when we want a little taste of our home culture. So, when figuring out octopus alternativves, we thought cheese might be good to try.
After all, cheese inside of something battered and fried is a time-honored bit of deliciousness. Why not try it as a takoyaki filling and see what the kids thought?
Our nearby local grocery store stocked an English-style cheddar. We snagged a small block and cut it into bite-size cubes. Once the takoyaki was ready to flip, we added a cube of cheese to the center of each one. The end result? Gooey, flavorful cheese at the heart of each popover. Jodie and I barely managed to get a few for ourselves.
3. Mushrooms
This one was a huge surprise.
While we adults adore mushrooms, the kids have not developed a taste for them yet. The flavor can be intense. The texture doesn’t appeal to them. They’ve tried them now and again, whether sauteed or pickled or on a pizza, but so far, mushrooms and our kids have been anything but besties.
Until tonight.
Japanese grocery stores abound with mushroom options. Commonly available shimeji mushrooms were our choice here. The caps are a perfect bite-size for takoyaki. We snipped off the cap and a bit of stem, and popped them into the takoyaki as soon as we poured in the batter.
We expected this batch to wind up being mostly for us parents. After their shrimp takoyaki and cheese takoyaki though, the kids felt pretty open to trying a mushroom version.
And they devoured them. Aster especially found them tasty, and the kids ate up just as many as we did.
Seek out takoyaki throughout your time in Osaka
When you visit Osaka, you can find takoyaki around your accommodation, in street stalls galore, at ball games, in grocery stores, and throughout your sightseeing around Osaka’s attractions and neighborhoods. Try it all, see what you like, and see if your kids are willing to give these octopus treats a chance.
As for us, we were so glad that we figured out a gateway takoyaki with our kids.
Our shrimp, cheese, and mushroom versions were a hit for our family! We thought we grownups would get the mushroom yaki all too ourselves, but we were WRONG! The kids wound up loving all 3 types. Turns out takoyaki can be a gateway treat to both octopus and mushrooms.
Takoyaki can be a fun and delicious part of your Osaka experience, memories, and travel stories
Takoyaki night was just the beginning, because takoyaki, like Osaka, has become a family favorite. Fast forward to the following year and another trip to Japan, both kids love to order takoyaki, octopus and all.
If you just happen to luck out, like we did, with a takoyaki maker at your place in Osaka, have a takoyaki night. You can change up the fillings however you want. It’ll become a fun night to remember in stories down the road.
Or, just focus on finding takoyaki when you’re out and about in Osaka. You might wind up, like we do, always wanting to come back to Osaka for another batch of tasty, fresh takoyaki.
