Akashiyaki
A local specialty featuring a soft batter and pleasantly chewy Akashi octopus.
Akashiyaki is a local specialty of Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture. Locally, it is known as tamagoyaki.
Pieces of Akashi octopus are cooked inside round balls of batter made with eggs, flour, and wheat starch, then dipped in broth before eating.
Akashiyaki is cooked in a highly heat-conductive copper pan and served in rows on a rectangular wooden board called an agedaita. Although it resembles takoyaki, which is typically eaten with sauce, akashiyaki is dipped in a kelp and bonito broth garnished with mitsuba, or Japanese parsley. The use of wheat starch gives it an exceptionally soft texture. It is also said to be the precursor of takoyaki.
Many restaurants in Akashi City serve akashiyaki. A number of them are clustered in and around Uonotana Shopping Street, making it easy to visit several and compare their flavors.
Highlights
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Instead of sauce, akashiyaki is dipped in a kelp and bonito broth garnished with mitsuba.
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Each piece contains pleasantly chewy Akashi octopus raised in the Akashi Strait.
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It is arranged and served on a sloped wooden agedaita board.
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Akashiyaki restaurants can be found throughout the area around Uonotana Shopping Street.
Photos
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Akashiyaki arranged on a red agedaita board, with broth garnished with mitsuba
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Soft, fluffy batter filled with pleasantly chewy Akashi octopus
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An artisan cooking akashiyaki
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Uonotana Shopping Street is home to many akashiyaki restaurants
Details
- Name in Japanese
- 明石焼
- Main area where the dish has been passed down
- Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture
- Main ingredients
- Eggs, flour, wheat starch, broth, Akashi octopus, and mitsuba