Taiyaki

Not to be confused with Teriyaki or Takoyaki.

Taiyaki

Course	Snack
Place of origin	Japan
Region or state	Japanese-speaking areas
Main ingredients	Batter, sweetened azuki beans
Media: Taiyaki

Taiyaki (鯛焼き, lit. 'baked sea bream') is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. It imitates the shape of tai (鯛 red seabream), which it is named after. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato. Some shops even sell taiyaki with okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or a sausage inside. Smaller, differently shaped versions called kingyoyaki (金魚焼き, lit. 'baked goldfish') are also available and often sold in bags of 5,10, or more.

In South Korea, taiyaki are known as bungeo-ppang. Taiyaki are similar to imagawayaki, which are thick round cakes also filled with sweet azuki bean paste or custard.

Ingredients

Taiyaki with red bean and matcha-swirled ice cream, mochi, and a wafer cookie

Taiyaki is made using regular pancake or waffle batter. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold for each side. The filling is then put on one side and the mold is closed. It is then cooked on both sides until golden brown.

Making of Taiyaki

History

Taiyaki was first sold in Japan in 1909. It is essentially a reshaped form of imagawayaki, an already popular snack made by wrapping bean paste in flour skin.

Seijirō Kobe, the founder of a store named Naniwaya Sōhonten (浪花家総本店), was having trouble selling his imagawayaki, so he decided to bake the cakes into fish shapes resembling tai, or red seabream. Tai are considered a symbol of luck and fortune in Japan, and were an expensive fish only affordable by the higher classes or on special occasions. Masamori Kobe, the fourth owner of the store, stated that Seijirō wanted to give the ordinary people a taste of the expensive fish at low prices.

Since its creation, taiyaki has has evolved variations in the ingredients of its filling and batter.

浪花家総本店(Naniwaya Souhonten)

See also

• Wagashi, tea confections
• Bungeo-ppang, similar korean dish
• "Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun", a song