What is Takoyaki?

Takoyaki is thought to be invented by an Osaka street vendor named Tomekichi Endo in 1935. Endo sold choboyaki, an earlier version of takoyaki that used similar ingredients but had a flattened shape. Inspired by akashiyaki or tamagoyaki, an eggy octopus dumpling meant for dipping in broth, Endo began experimenting with ingredients and created the modern takoyaki as we know it.

Another theory of how modern takoyaki came to be is that the popular descendant of choboyaki, radioyaki (ラジオ焼き), evolved into takoyaki when a traveler from Akashi (the town where akashiyaki originated) told a radioyaki vendor that octopus was more popular in Akashi than the cuts of marinated meat used in radioyaki. The addition of octopus turned out to be far more popular than either choboyaki or radioyaki and transformed the dish into the modern-day takoyaki.

Takoyaki stands out in Japanese cuisine particularly because it is made with wheat batter. Other wheat-based dishes popular in Japan include okonomiyaki and yakisoba, which are also popular street food dishes cooked on a grill. These dishes are particularly significant because Japan’s culinary traditions did not widely include wheat until it was introduced by outside influences, particularly Western nations.

Wheat is believed to have come to Japan in the Nara period (710-748 AD), and was used to create udon and other types of noodles, as well as batter for dumplings; however, rice remained the staple grain in Japan. In recent history, the rise in the use of wheat flour is largely due to rice shortages during times of natural disaster or reconstruction, such as the Tokyo Earthquake of 1923 and after WWII when merikan-ko or "American flour" became inexpensive and widely available.

Rather than recreating Western foods such as griddle cakes or biscuits, Japanese cooks used wheat flour to create inventive dishes that were unmistakably Japanese in style and flavor and improved upon these dishes by borrowing from regional traditions around Japan.