Taiyaki
Taiyaki is a popular Japanese sweet desert that generally comprises of a sea bream shapped jaffle made from pankake or waffle batter and filled with red bean paste or various other sweet fillings.
Taiyaki originated in Tokyo in the early 1900′s and like many other Japanese dishes the “yaki” part of the name means to grill. The way it is cooked is in a type of fish shaped waffle iron where the batter is put in first before the main filling and then the iron is closed shut to cook the taiyaki and its tasty ingredients. The “Tai” part of the name comes from the Japanese name of sea bream, sea bream are a symbol of good fortune, hense the reason for wanting a desert shaped like a fish.
The dish is probably derived from the Imagawayaki dish that uses similar batter and red bean paste in a round shape mould that dates back to the late 1700s. The red bean paste is made from sweetened azuki beans and is the traditional filling in a taiyaki.
As the taiyaki popularity has increased several taiyaki shops have sprung up all across Japan and today the fillings range from sweet flavors like chocolate, custard or apple to more savory fillings like Italian, German potato and bacon or even cheese burger flavor.
Taiyaki waffle irons can be found for sale in kitchen districts like Osaks’s Doguya-suji or Tokyo’s Kappabashi-dori. If you want to try out a taiyaki outside of Japan check out your local Asian supermarket for a Korean fish shaped ice cream that is derived from Korea’s Bungeopang. Bungeopang was derived from Taiyaki when Taiyaki was taken to Korea during Korea’s 1930′s Japanese occupation.
Website of a taiyaki fast food chain
