How To Make Taiyaki

Rachel — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:49:14 +0000

In Japan, if you have a jones for a snack, you’re covered. The huge amount of street food and vendors alike ensure you need not walk four blocks without something to eat in between. Thanks to anime, Westerners are introduced to a wide variety of these intriguing street foods. Okonomiyaki turns up in Tsubasa, takoyaki has made an appearance in The Wallflower and dango is everywhere you look, most notably in Sailor Moon.

Taiyaki is not only in anime (most recently in Kanon) it even has it’s own hit single, “Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun” (”Swim! Taiyaki”) by Masato Shimon.

Taiyaki, literally, “grilled sea bream”, is a wheat batter-based confection, much like pancakes and waffles, filled with bean jam (anko) and grilled in a fish-shaped iron. The result is a slightly crispy sea bream-shaped goodie perfect for on-the-go munching.

If you plan on making taiyaki, you’ll need a taiyaki-ki (taiyaki mold). But if you’re simply after the flavor of taiyaki, you can also make silver dollar size cakes with the batter and fill them with anko. This confection is called dorayaki (literally, “grilled gong”, in allusion to their round shape).

I wanted a more crisp bread for my taiyaki and have tweaked a krumkake recipe I found online. This recipe yields a firm, light crust that’s not too sweet.

Taiyaki

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
3 Tbs. water
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tbs. honey (optional)
1 1/2 cups anko, room temperature

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Beat together the eggs, honey, if using, and sugar till frothy and to it add the flour mixture and water. Whip till smooth.

Preheat a taiyaki-ki and brush it lightly with oil. Pour in a small amount of batter to the preheated pan, add a tablespoon of anko and more batter as necessary to fill in the details. Close and latch the pan.

Turn the heat to medium low and cook about 30 seconds then turn the pan over. Heat evenly for a minute and turn again. Repeat. The taiyaki are done when you can easily open the iron and the taiyaki are a golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 Taiyaki

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 30 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Easy

The Japanese use fillings other than anko for taiyaki. Chocolate, custard and even savory fillings are also popular additives. Use whatever you like; make it your okonomi-taiyaki!

You can make dorayaki with this recipe and add more honey to up the flavor and make it more moist. If you want, cut shapes from the dorayaki with a cookie cutter while the cakes are still warm. You can then sandwich anko between them.

Japanese Recipe, Live-action Edition: All About Anko

Rachel — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:07:19 +0000

In the West, who would ever believe that anything as common as beans could ever become anything more than kick-ass burritos and tasty tail-gate chili? Beans have gotten a bad rap through the years as being poor man’s food and the “musical fruit”. Derisive songs have been sung mocking the bloating attributes of these tiny powerhouses. But in Japan, this lowly legume has transcended its humble beginnings to become one of the most widely used ingredients in desserts; Anko.

Anko is a building block in Japanese desserts, wagashi. Without anko, there wouldn’t be the profusion and variety of wagashi which exist today. Anko is made from red azuki beans which have been carefully boiled down to a chunky jam and is then sweetened. This whole bean variety of anko is known as tsubu or tsubushi-an.

Tsubu-an is used as filling in wagashi, a dessert topping, and as a sweet soup, zenzai. White beans are also used in creating anko. Shiro an is white anko, and is usually made from either lima or navy beans.

Anko also comes in different textures, one of which is koshi-an. Koshi an is a refined, smooth bean paste. Koshi-an is made from either azuki or white beans, which have been pulped and then strained to a satiny texture. Sugar syrup is then added to sweeten the paste. White beans are most commonly turned into koshi an rather than into tsubu an.

To create delicate, beautiful wagashi known as nerikiri, a mochi mixture, gyuhi, is added to shiro koshi-an. The end result is a paste similar to marzipan and can be tinted and molded into just about any shape.

Today’s edition is all about anko and we’ll be making a batch of each anko variety: Tsubushi-an and Shiro Koshi-an. Let’s get started transforming these shriveled beans into something worthy of an emperor!

Part 1 of 3:

Part 2 of 3:

Part 3 of 3:

Shiro Koshi-an

2 cups lima or navy beans, soaked overnight
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
salt to taste, optional

1. Cook beans according to directions on package. Watch video for tips on cooking wagashi-worthy beans.
2. Mash cooked beans in a bowl until only the skins are recognizable.
3. Force mashed beans with the back of a spoon or a wooden pestle through a strainer to separate the bean meats from the skins. Drip some water from a faucet through sieve to help force bean meats through.
4. In a clean, unbleached piece of muslin, strain bean water by placing cloth in sieve or cup, adding bean water to center of cloth, twisting closed, and tightly wringing out water. Watch video for tips.
5. In a small sauce pan, heat water and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat.
6. In another saucepan, add strained bean paste and 1/4-1/2 cup sugar syrup, more or less to taste.
7. Heat and simmer on low till water is mostly evaporated, stirring constantly and making sure not to burn shiro-an. Shiro-an should be a satiny mass of paste when fully cooked.
8. Let shiro koshi-an cool on a cookie sheet or smooth surface. Use immediately or freeze for future use.

Makes 1 cup

Note: Azuki or green mung beans may also be used in koshi-an.

Tsubu-an

1 cup azuki beans
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Salt to taste, optional

1. Cook azuki beans according to directions. Watch video for tips on cooking wagashi-worthy beans.
2. After beans are desired firmness, drain beans and slightly mash beans to desired texture.
3. In a small sauce pan, heat water and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for three minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup syrup to mashed beans. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until desired consistency.
5. Cool and serve.

Makes 2 cups

Note: White beans may also be used in tsubu-an.

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