A classic street vendor snack in Japan, Taiyaki is a warm, fish-shaped cake with sweet red bean filling. This waffle-like Japanese treat is very popular at street fairs and festivals. In this recipe, I’ll show you how you can make fresh, hot Taiyaki at home.
What I miss most about Japanese summertime is the astonishing array of Japanese street foods offered by vendors at hundreds of festivals (matsuri) that take place across the country this time of year. There is endless of good eats to indulge in, but one of the must-try is the fish-shaped waffle-like snack called Taiyaki (鯛焼き).
Typically filled with sweet red bean paste, taiyaki are the stuff of childhood dreams! Just the thought of taiyaki would bring an intense craving and smile to my face!
Table of Contents
What is Taiyaki?
Easily recognizable by its whimsical fish-shaped, taiyaki (鯛焼き) is a waffle-style cake/snack filled with sweet red bean paste (anko), and sometimes with other fillings such as custard, chocolate, Nutella, or cheese.
It is a quintessential food at Japanese street fairs and festivals and is made in a fish-shaped iron mold resembling tai (red sea bream). In Japan, you can also find taiyaki shops that specialize in making pastries.
Most recently, trendy shops across the world have reimagined this traditional treat. In Tokyo, there is croissant taiyaki, where they combine croissant dough with tasty fillings.
In the US, you can find Taiyaki NY, a specialty shop with a few locations in New York and a few other places that serve taiyaki as handheld ice cream cones and topped with soft-serve ice cream. You can customize your ice cream flavor—from matcha and black sesame swirl to chocolate—and finish with red bean filling, a wafer stick, and mini mochi. Each taiyaki cone is crafted to fill your Instagram feeds.
History of Taiyaki: Why is Taiyaki Shaped Like a Fish?
Tai means “sea bream” and yaki means “grilled/baked”. You can trace its origin back to the Edo Period over 300 years ago. Before taiyaki took its shape, taiyaki was first imagawayaki, a warm round-shaped cake that is filled with sweet red bean paste.
During the Meiji-era (1868 – 1912), tai (sea bream) was considered a highly prized fish and only eaten for special celebrations. The fish became the symbol of good luck in Japan’s way of life and culture. Some enterprising pastry makers decided to modify imagawayaki by refashioning the round-shaped cake into a brand new sea bream fish look. With that, taiyaki was born and it became a huge hit.
Childhood Memories of Taiyaki
When taiyaki is freshly made, the crispy exterior surrounding the warm soft cake with anko filling is delectable. I would toss it between my hands to avoid getting burnt and slowly bite into the steaming hot cake. I usually start eating from the head side and the tail last (how about you?).
When I was young, I sometimes had to share a taiyaki with my younger brother and I always fought for the head side because taiyaki shops do not always fill the red bean paste all the way to the tail. I was always really disappointed when they don’t!
How to Make Taiyaki
The Ingredients You’ll Need
As you could see, we only need simple pantry ingredients to make this classic taiyaki recipe:
- Cake flour
- Baking powder & baking soda
- Egg
- Whole milk
- Sugar
- Filling: Red bean paste (anko) or others such as Nutella, chocolate, custard, etc)
- Neutral oil
When I don’t have time to make my homemade red bean paste, I buy and use a can of Ogura-An. The texture of the red bean paste is very smooth and easy to use.
The Cooking Steps
- Make the batter.
- Heat the taiyaki pan and pour the batter.
- Add the filling of your choice and cook!
Other Cooking Notes
Each taiyaki store and family has its own recipe and style for taiyaki, and my recipe leans toward cakey, fluffy pancake texture as my kids prefer it that way. I like mine to be on the crispy side like waffles. If you also like crispy texture, omit the egg and adjust the liquid amount for the batter.
Making taiyaki is very similar to a waffle making. The only extra touch is the filling. What kind of filling should we prepare? Let’s talk about that next.
Taiyaki Filling
Without a doubt, sweet red bean paste (Anko) is the most classic and popular choice of filling, but you can also find other sweet and savory options:
- Custard cream (recipe)
- Chocolate
- Nutella
- Cheese
- Sweet potato paste, and more!
Special Tool: Taiyaki Pan
Taiyaki is not taiyaki without its iconic shape! Since I know I’d make it every summer as a tradition for my children (and myself), I decided to get the fish-shaped taiyaki pan from Amazon.
More Japanese Street Snacks You’ll Love
- Imagawayaki (Obanyaki)
- Manju
- Dorayaki (Japanese Red Bean Pancake)
- Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes (Yaki Imo)
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Taiyaki (Japanese Fish Shaped Waffle)
Video
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups cake flour (or make homemade cake flour; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- ¾ cup whole milk (¾ cup + 4 tsp; adjust the amount of milk depending on the egg size)
- 8 Tbsp sweet red bean paste (anko) (or make my homemade Anko recipe; you can also use Nutella, custard, or your favorite filling)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (for greasing the grill)
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Please note that the batter requires a resting time of 1 hour. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Gather all the ingredients. You will also need a taiyaki maker. Please note that each brand of taiyaki maker comes with a different-sized mold. If you are making taiyaki for the first time, consider this a trial run for measuring the portion of ingredients you‘ll need for your particular taiyaki mold.
To Make the Batter
- Sift 1¼ cups cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp baking soda into a large bowl.
- Add 3 Tbsp sugar and whisk well to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) and then add ¾ cup whole milk (¾ cup + 4 tsp). Combine well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk well. Keep the batter in the refrigerator for at least one hour to rest and let the flour absorb the liquid. Tip: Whisking the batter creates gluten; by letting it rest, the batter will relax and become smooth.
- Pour the batter into a measuring cup or jug. You should have about 1¼ cups.
To Cook the Taiyaki
- Preheat the taiyaki maker over medium-low heat. When it‘s hot, grease the pan with some of the 1 Tbsp neutral oil using a brush.
- Fill the taiyaki pan mold about 60% full of batter.
- In the center of each mold, put about 1 Tbsp of the 8 Tbsp sweet red bean paste (anko) and pour more batter on top to cover it.
- Optional: You can also use Nutella as a filling.
- Close the lid and immediately flip.
- Cook for 2 to 2½ minutes on that side. Then flip and cook for another 2 to 2½ minutes. Open and check to see if the taiyaki is golden brown. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Continue cooking the remaining taiyaki.
To Serve
- Serve warm. If the taiyaki get cold, you can toast them in the toaster oven or oven until they‘re crispy on the outside.
To Store
- You can keep the taiyaki in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat, toast them in the toaster oven or oven until they‘re crispy on the outside.
For some reason, this recipe didn’t work well at all for me… the resulting taiyaki was extremely chewy and dense, and it felt undercooked. However, the chewiness only got worse the more I cooked it. The only difference I made in the recipe is replacing the sugar with stevia, but that has never ever created a problem for me before, so I don’t think thats it. Do you know what could have gone wrong? 🙁 I’m wondering if it was too much egg, or the stevia, or if my baking powder is old…
Hi Tama! Sorry yours didn’t come out well. First question I have is if you rested the batter. When you said dense and chewy, I thought of the gluten in the batter. I had never used stevia so I can’t tell how that would affect either. How about the heat? Maybe your batter was too thick? Since you mentioned it felt undercooked, I was thinking it might be due to the thick batter. Sorry I wish I know exactly what could cause it, but I’m not too sure without looking at it. 🙁
[…] west of Kaminarimon Gate, there a variety of famous shops there that sells Japanese pastries like taiyaki and melon pan, and some unique […]
How far ahead can I make theses? If I’m doing some for a party and want to make them the day before, will they be okay? Or if that doesn’t work, can I make the batter ahead of time and do them the day of?
Hi Jennifer! I hope and believe you can make the day before, BUT you will need to crisp up the skin on the day of – it gets soggy just like any other doughy sweets. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can I leave the batter in the fridge for a few days?
Hi Lim! I think so, but maybe freezing keeps the flavors better. You will need to reheat with oven toaster or oven instead of microwave so that the shell is crispy. 🙂
Hi! I followed your recipe step by step but my teriyaki is always seeming uncooked from the middle. What should I do?
Hi SantaSans! Hmmm hard to pin point what went wrong from your short description, but it sounds like 1) cooking time is short 2) not enough heat or 3) too much batter in the middle, not evenly distributed… How about trying to cook longer on lower heat to start?
Thank you for posting this recipe! I have used it many times, and I have varied the “filling” – sometimes chocolate, sometimes custard. I also tried adding pumpkin puree to the batter and the filling for a thanksgiving twist, and it worked out great!
Hi Theresa! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe with different fillings! It’s fun to have different fillings so we can enjoy more… 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
I bought the Taiyaki mold and after a couple of tries, my last batch came out great according to your recipe. SUGOI !!!! Domo arigatou gozaimashita!
Hi Kunihiro! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Arigato! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s always a wonderful treat, thank you! I did want to try making them slightly crispier–would you mind clarifying how to adjust the recipe without the egg (to make crispier taiyaki)? Thank you in advance!
Hi Stacey! So happy to hear you like this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback! I haven’t tried the recipe without the egg so I can’t give the no-egg version… sorry! If I try it one day I’ll post here. 🙂
HI Nami,
Thank you for responding! When you write: “I like mine to be on the crispy side like waffles. If you also like crispy texture, omit the egg and adjust the liquid amount for the batter” does that mean I should make it more like waffle batter? I’m sorry, I’m just confused about what you wrote–was that unintentional?
Hi Stacey! No I meant that I like more crusty texture of taiyaki shell. My kids like the pancake-y shell like this recipe.
I want to make a few comment. First of all, to make the crispy taiyaki, we need super hot cast iron pan and thin batter. That way the shell gets pretty crusty. I think my taiyaki pan doesn’t do a quite good job compared to those taiyaki shop ones…
You can omit egg and make it with flour, BP, BS, and honey/sugar (but this is not waffle recipe – waffle requires eggs). I think you can get the crispy texture, not as “doughy” or pancake texture, if you make the batter pretty thin. Again, I’ve never tried it yet. One day I have to test and see if I can achieve it with my taiyaki maker. 🙂
Nami, seeing as how the taiyaki pan is so much less expensive than the obanyaki pan, I might want to try this recipe instead. Thank you so much for sharing all the wonderful recipes! I think making the taiyaki will be fun, as my grandson love son marine life, and it might tickle his fancy. (He’s 2)
Hi Mara! I actually like the ratio of batter and filling in Taiyaki better than Obanyaki. 🙂 It’s slightly “lighter”.
I think your grandson will enjoy the treat with you! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my recipes. Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
Thank you so much for posting this! When I lived in Japan, I would often stop by the taiyaki stand inside Tenmays Department store to buy a taiyaki. It was my favorite treat!
Now I live in the US, but a friend just gave me a taiyaki maker. I’m so excited to make them for my kids with your awesome recipe!
Hi Ashley! Somehow I probably deleted your comment in my Inbox and I didn’t get to read it till now. I apologize!
Isn’t it so nice to get a Taiyaki (or a few) in Japan… I miss the “treat” for myself…. LOL.
I hope your children enjoy homemade taiyaki with you! 🙂
I love making these, although my pan is getting old and my taiyaki want to stick, even when I oil it. I think I need to look into buying a new one. I originally found a recipe that just used pancake mix, and I use that one for making the taiyaki my daughter takes for her students the last day of class (she teaches a how to draw manga class at a local art studio, running several times a year for 8-10 weeks). I need to try this recipe, though, since the pancake batter can be a bit thick and it’s harder to get it to fill the “fins” to the end. I think I have everything here I need – always have anko on hand, and of course, Nutella. I’ve tried using fruit preserves, too, and they tasted great.
Hi Linda! Wow, your daughter is very talented and how sweet that she brings them for her students! Pancake mix is easy but could cost more. Hope this recipe will work out for you. Ohh fruit preserves sounds delicious! Hope her students will enjoy these. 🙂
where did you buy the iron making the fish shapes? i1m from norway, and can’t find it here. are there websites i can look at to buy one?
Hi Kristine! I bought it on Amazon. Bento & Co also sells it here:
https://en.bentoandco.com/products/tai-yaki-pan
Hope this helps! 🙂
Is it possible to make this with a pre-made cake or waffle mix? Like an all-purpose baking mix? I’m a college student so it’s hard to keep a lot of ingredients around!
Hi Morgan! I haven’t tried it with pancake/waffle mix. Maybe it’ll work, but if you could get Japanese pancake mix (“Hotcake Mix”) I would recommend that instead. 🙂
I got the pan you used for my birthday and I just made some tonight. I used chocolate hazelnut as a filling and it was so good! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Hi Emily! Happy Birthday (if it was recent)!! What a awesome birthday gift. You’ll enjoy taiyaki with different filling. Thanks so much for your kind feedback. xo
Can you possibly make taiyaki with a machine OTHER than a Taiyaki maker?
What kind of machine do you mean? You mean a taiyaki making machine that is in a taiyaki store? I’d love to, but I don’t have it… 😀 😀