Taiyaki

Taiyaki (鯛焼き), as clear from its name, is a Japanese recipe. It’s a very popular vendor snack in Japan that’s also served on festive occasions. It’s a fish-shaped cake. Its shape resembles the shape of a Japanese seasonal fish called “Tai,” that’s why it’s called Taiyaki.

This amazing fish-shaped dessert is usually filled with a red paste that’s made from Adzuki beans. Still, you can also fill it with Custard, Nutella, Sweet Potato paste, Chocolate, or yummy Cheese filling. This warm cake can be enjoyed at any time of the year but is best suited for winter.

Taiyaki Recipe — Japanese Fish-Shaped Cakes

Fluffy on the outside, warm and sweet on the inside, Taiyaki is a Japanese street food favorite. Follow these steps and you’ll have perfect golden fish cakes every time — even if it’s your first try.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups cake flour (or all-purpose flour sifted for a lighter texture)

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1½ tbsp sugar

• 1 pinch salt (optional)

• ⅓ cup water

• ⅓ cup milk

• 1 large egg

• Oil, for brushing the pan

• 1 tbsp Anko paste (sweet red bean paste) or filling of your choice per cake

Instructions:

1. Make the Batter

   • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

   • In another bowl or measuring jug, whisk the egg, milk, and water together.

   • Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Avoid over-mixing — just enough to remove any lumps.

2. Chill the Batter

   • Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1–2 hours. This resting time helps the batter cook more evenly.

3. Prepare the Taiyaki Pan

   • Preheat your fish-shaped Taiyaki mold pan over medium-low heat.

   • Lightly brush both sides of the mold with oil to prevent sticking.

4. Fill the Molds

   • Pour a thin layer of batter into each mold, just enough to coat the bottom. Don’t overfill — too much batter will spill and distort the fish shape.

   • Add about 1 tbsp of Anko paste (or your chosen filling) in the center.

5. Seal with Batter

   • Spoon more batter over the filling until it’s fully covered.

6. Cook the Taiyaki

   • Close the mold and cook for 2–3 minutes on one side, until golden brown.

   • Flip and cook for another 1–2 minutes on the other side.

   • Cooking time may vary depending on your pan size and stovetop, so check for an even golden color.

7. Cool and Serve

   • Transfer the Taiyaki to a wire rack for a minute or two so the outside stays crisp.

   • Serve warm and enjoy immediately.

Some Important Tips for Making Taiyaki:

• You can use Pancake flour instead of cake flour, which also goes well with the recipe.
• Baking soda reacts with the acidic elements of the dough and has a leavening effect, and the cake gets lighter and puffier.
• Japanese recipes are usually less sweet than our cakes, that’s why this recipe contains a bit of sugar. If you are a sugar-lover, then you can add more sugar according to your taste.
• Salt is added to balance the sweet taste of sugar. But it’s optional. You can skip if you like cake sweeter.
• Only adding milk will leave this cake a bit dense. Make a mixture of half water and half milk. A mixture of water and milk will make this cake light and fluffy.

Taiyaki Fillings

The best part of this cake is that you can fill it with any filling of your choice. It gets wells with almost all kinds of fillings. Japanese traditionally fill it with a sweet red paste of adzuki beans. But you’ve got the option to use the filling of your choice.

The most popular fillings for this cake include:

• Custard
• Cheese Filling
• Chocolate Filling
• Sweet Potato Paste
• Nutella
• Strawberry Jam

You can also check this Vegan version of Taiyaki. 

Red Bean Paste

Red bean filling, famously known as “Anko” is made from Adzuki beans. To make this paste, soak the adzuki beans overnight and boil them until they get tender. Now add sugar to the beans and mash the mixture of beans and sugar to a smooth paste.

• If you don’t want to make Anko Paste by yourself, you can buy it easily from a nearby Japanese store in your area.

Taiyaki in the US

If you’re craving Taiyaki but don’t have a fish-shaped Taiyaki mold or aren’t in the mood to cook it by yourself, then don’t worry! There are plenty of spots in the US where you can buy this amazingly delicious fish-shaped Japanese cake.

If you live in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, or Miami, then there’s a Taiyaki restaurant chain called Taiyaki NYC that makes the best Taiyaki around town. You can dine in or can get your Taiyaki delivered to your home.

Likewise, if you live in Texas, California, or Hawaii, there’s another restaurant chain called SomiSomi that serves Korean ice cream stuffed in Taiyaki. This amazing ice cream stuffed Taiyaki cone is called “ah-boong.” SomiSomi also serves Taiyaki with different fillings like Nutella, Taro, Cheddar, Custard, and Red Bean Paste.

How to store Taiyaki?

I recommend eating Taiyaki cakes fresh because they taste the best right after they are dished out of the pan. Fresh Taiyaki cakes are soft, crispy, and slushy. But if you want to store them, then you can store them in two ways:

• Refrigerate Taiyaki
• Freeze Taiyaki

1- Refrigerating Taiyaki

You can store Taiyaki cakes in the fridge for up to two days. It’s better to store them in an air-tight container to maintain their moisture, softness, and texture.

2- Freeze Taiyaki

If you want to store Taiyaki for a long time, then you can freeze it. To freeze Taiyaki, wrap each fish individually in plastic wrap and place them in a sealable bag or air-tight container. You can store them in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

How to Reheat Taiyaki?

There are 3 methods to reheat Taiyaki:

• Toasting
• Frying
• Heating in Microwave

Toasting Taiyaki 

The best way to reheat Taiyaki is to toast them in a toaster. Toasted Taiyaki will be crispy and yummy. Taiyaki cakes mostly fit in the toaster, but if they don’t, then you go for any of the other two reheating options.

Frying Taiyaki

You can reheat Taiyaki by frying them in the pan. For this purpose, heat the pan and fry them in the pan without using oil. This way, you will get a crispy taiyaki exterior.

Heating Taiyaki in Microwave

You can reheat the Taiyaki cakes in the microwave for 20 seconds, but this reheating method has a drawback that your Taiyaki cakes won’t be crispy anymore.