I don't really like to buy single use appliances unless I will use the appliance regularly, like a rice cooker or a toaster. Even then, a rice cooker can double as a steamer (aha! didn't know that, did you?), or you can use it to make congee too. The problem with single use appliances is that once the novelty wears off, it is just clutter in the kitchen, or becomes another piece of item that the landfill didn't need. I can hear the collective gasps of hoarders worldwide... Of course, who am I to judge when I have egg moulds that I have only used twice in a decade?
So anyway, I have been hankering to make takoyaki at home for years but didn't want to buy a takoyaki pan. I finally managed to borrow a cake pop machine (perhaps that is why people should have single use appliances - so their friends can borrow them!) and made these takoyaki at home!
They were so delicious, but it was fiddly pouring the batter into those little moulds, turning, waiting for it to cook, pouring more batter to make it round, more waiting for it to cook. I made these takoyaki with prawns instead of octopus just because I didn't have octopus handy and they tasted more delicious. I topped it with Kewpie mayo and bonito flakes that waved in the heat.
My first bite into the takoyaki balls were wonderful - it was somewhat crispy on the outside and soft in the inside with the bite of the prawn pieces.
The downside is that the cake pop machine only yields 12 pieces of takoyaki for 20-30 mins worth of work and wait time so the reward vs work ratio was grossly unbalanced. But it was still a good experience to be able to make my own takoyaki. You can also experiment with other fillings, perhaps oysters or unagi or spring onions.