A classic street vendor snack in Japan, Taiyaki is a warm fish-shape cake with red bean filling. This waffle-like Japanese snack is very popular at street fairs and festivals in Japan. In this recipe, I'll show you how you can make fresh hot Taiyaki at home.

Taiyaki

INGREDIENTS

• 150 g cake flour (5.3 oz or about 1¼ cup) (See Notes)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell) (beaten)
• 200 ml milk (about ¾ cup)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 100 g red bean paste (anko) (3.5 oz or 5 Tbsp) (See Note for homemade recipe)
• 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients.
   
2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.
3. Add the sugar and whisk well to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and then add the milk. Whisk well to combine.
5. Combine the dry ingredients with wet ingredients and whisk well. Keep the batter in the refrigerator for at least one hour to rest and let the flour absorb liquid. Whisking the batter creates gluten, so it’s better to let it rest to make smooth batter.
6. Pour the batter into a measuring cup or jug. It should be 1 ¼ cup.
7. Heat the Taiyaki pan and grease the pan with vegetable oil using a brush.
8. Fill the Taiyaki pan mold about 60% full over medium low heat.
9. Put anko in the center of each mold and pour the batter on top to cover anko.
10. Close the lid and immediately turn/flip.
11. Cook for 2-2.5 minutes each side. Then flip and cook another 2-2.5 mintues. Open and check to see if Taiyaki is golden color. Let Taiyaki cool on a wire rack.
12. You can also use Nutella filling.

RECIPE NOTES

Cake flour: If you can't find it, use this substitution. Take one level cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 Tbsp, and then add 2 Tbsp of corn starch back in. (1 cup AP flour - 2 Tbsp AP flour + 2 Tbsp corn starch = 1 cup cake flour). Be sure to sift the flour 3-4 times to distribute the corn starch well.

Milk: Depends on the egg size, adjust the amount of milk.

Anko: Homemade recipe, click here. You can also use Nutella, custard, or your favorite filling.

Equipment you will need:

• Taiyaki Maker - Please note that each brand of Taiyaki maker comes with different size, so if you are making Taiyaki for the first time, consider the first trial for measuring your taiyaki size and ingredients portion.

https://www.justonecookbook.com/taiyaki/