TAIYAKI
Taiyaki is an adorable fish shaped waffle-like pastry from Japan. I was gifted my taiyaki pan by a co-worker when I worked at a Japanese restaurant. I don’t get to use it often but when I do it’s always such a blast. I find it works best with open fire/gas stove type heat so I use my portable butane stove for this.
TAIYAKI RECIPE makes 4 servings
TOOLS
taiyaki pan
gas stove or equivalent
squeeze bottle
piping bag with star tip or similar (if using home made whipped cream)
not my original image but an example of what a taiyaki pan looks like. Mine is smaller and hand held.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of your favorite pancake mix
water
whipped cream store bought or homemade
6-8 fresh strawberries sliced
2 tsp white sugar
non-stick spray
honey optional
DIRECTIONS
Prepare the strawberries by slicing them. Put them in a small bowl and sprinkle the white sugar over top. Give it a gentle mix and let the sugars draw out the fruits natural juices and flavor.
In a bowl make the pancake batter as per box instructions. The only difference I make here is I prefer a runnier batter than traditional pancake mix so I will add 50% more water to the mix than what it calls for. Pour this batter into a squeeze bottle.
Turn on your stove to a medium fire. Spray the taiyaki pan on both sides and then place onto the stove. Once the pan is hot enough to make the batter sizzle when it hits the metal, fill the fish molds in with your pancake batter. My word of caution here is not to fill the molds all the way to the top because the batter will expand as it cooks. I aim to fill about 70%.
Close the taiyaki pan and flip to cook the other side. It will take 2-3 minutes on each side depending on how hot your pan is. The taiyaki is done when it’s golden brown on both sides. Remove each taiyaki and set aside until you finish all the batter.
Let the taiyaki cool until you can handle them. Use a knife to make a pocket, cutting from the top of the fish down to the belly but not puncturing the belly through. I make my cut from nose to tail, making sure not to cut the sides too much either. You want it to be like a pocket.
Fill your taiyaki with strawberries and whipped cream. I like to add a drizzle of honey over top to bump up the sweetness. Enjoy!
