Yo Quiero Tako Ball

Woohoo!

Guess who owns a space heater now?

Now that my fingers have unfrozen and can move again, I will also take this time to talk about my new favorite food in Japan. It's called takoyaki. so in love with this dish have I fallen, I have even purchased the appliances necessary so I may make these delectable balls in the mild discomfort (read: cold) of my own kitchen.

Takoyaki are basically little doughy balls that can have ginger, cabbage, crisp rice, and green onion in them. but the star of the show, at center of these golden wonders is always a chewy piece of tako, or as we call them in English, octopus. If you've never had octopus, it's just slightly less chewy than eating a clam, despite what may initially be a negative reaction to the thought, you even start to really enjoy when you get a tentacle.

Often, they are topped with a sweetened Worcestershire sauce, mayo, and dried fish flakes. The cool thing about the fish flakes is that when they are put onto hot foods they start to flutter and dance. All in all, it's not the healthiest Japanese food, but damn it's awesome!

While I don't have any immediate photos of my creations. . .here are some examples of what they look like. (note: several octopi were harmed in the production of these photos)

Last night i made my best batch yet, and was even lauded for my efforts. I now have a dream of opening a takoyaki stand near campus in Austin and getting everyone hooked on these little things.