A fish-shaped cake sold as street food, baked in a hinged mold to look like a tai (red sea bream) and filled with sweet azuki red bean paste. The thin batter crisps at the fins and tail while staying cakey at the body, encasing a warm, jammy filling.
First sold in Tokyo in 1909 by Naniwaya Sohonten, taiyaki is a reshaped imagawayaki given the lucky tai-fish form to let common people enjoy the shape of an expensive fish.
You bite the crisp tail first, then hit the soft, faintly sweet cake and the warm rush of smooth red bean paste in the belly. It is comforting and nostalgic, like a waffle and a bean bun fused into one handheld treat.
The hot cast mold conducts intense heat to the thin batter edges, crisping them via Maillard browning while the thicker body stays tender. Enclosing the filling before sealing keeps the paste moist and warm as the shell sets.
Variations
custard cream filling, chocolate, sweet potato, matcha; open-mouth taiyaki ice cream cones; savory cheese versions
On the Palate
Where Taiyaki sits in the Japanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 15 min
Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, egg and milk into a smooth pourable batter.
- 23 min
Heat both sides of a fish-shaped taiyaki mold and brush with oil.
Watch outHeat both mold plates hot and oil them well before pouring — a cool or dry mold sticks and tears the fish when you open it.
- 31 min
Pour batter to fill the bottom mold halfway.
- 41 min
Spoon a line of red bean paste down the center of the fish.
- 51 min
Cover with a little more batter to enclose the filling.
Watch outSpoon the last of the batter over the paste so the filling is fully sealed in — any gap and the bean paste leaks and scorches.
- 65 min
Close the mold and cook over low heat, flipping to brown both sides.
- 73 min
Cook until the cake is golden and crisp at the edges.
Watch outCook until the edges are crisp and deep golden and it smells toasty — that thin browned rim is the whole point of taiyaki.
- 81 min
Open the mold, trim any overflow, and serve warm.
