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 summer festivals. In this recipe, I’ll show you how you can make fresh, hot taiyaki at home.
What I miss most about summertime in Japan is the astonishing array of Japanese street foods offered by vendors at the hundreds of festivals (matsuri) that take place across the country. The choices are endless! Hands down, one of the must-try street snacks is taiyaki (鯛焼き).
Fish-shaped, waffle-like taiyaki filled with sweet red bean paste is the stuff of my childhood dreams! Just the thought of fresh, warm taiyaki brings an intense craving and smile to my face. With the right pan, it’s easy to make taiyaki at home, too!
Table of Contents
What is Taiyaki?
Taiyaki (鯛焼き) is a warm, waffle-style snack cake. Tai means “sea bream” and yaki means “grilled/baked.” It’s made in a cast iron mold shaped like an auspicious fish called red sea bream. Sweet red bean paste (anko) is the typical filling, but custard filling is also quite popular. You can also find it filled with chocolate, Nutella, or even cheese.
Taiyaki is one of the quintessential summer festival foods in Japan. There, you can also find taiyaki shops that specialize in making the fish-shaped pastry. Most recently, trendy shops across the world have reimagined this traditional treat.
In Tokyo, there is “croissant taiyaki” that combines croissant dough with tasty fillings. In New York, you can find the specialty shop Taiyaki NY that serves taiyaki as a soft serve ice cream cone. You choose your soft-serve flavor and finish with red bean filling, a wafer stick, and mini mochi.
Why is Taiyaki Shaped Like a Fish?
Its origins trace back to the Edo Period over 300 years ago. Before taiyaki took its fish shape, it started as 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 a symbol of luck in Japan’s way of life and culture. Some enterprising pastry makers decided to refashion the round imagawayaki into a brand new fish shape. With that, taiyaki was born and it became a huge hit.
Special Tool: Taiyaki Pan
Taiyaki is not taiyaki without its iconic shape! Since I know I’ll make it every summer as a tradition for my children (and myself), I decided to purchase a fish-shaped taiyaki mold/maker from Amazon.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Taiyaki
We only need simple pantry ingredients to make this classic recipe:
- cake flour – store-bought or you can make homemade cake flour
- baking powder and baking soda
- large egg
- whole milk
- sugar
- filling of your choice – red bean paste (anko), Nutella, chocolate, and custard are popular choices
- neutral oil
How To Make Taiyaki
- Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the sugar and whisk well.
- Whisk the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Refrigerate the batter for at least one hour.
- Heat the taiyaki pan over medium-low heat. Brush the mold with neutral oil.
- Pour the batter (I use a large measuring cup) until the mold is about 60% full.
- Spoon the filling into the center of the mold and pour more batter on top. Close the lid and immediately flip. Cook, then flip again to cook the other side. It’s done when the taiyaki is golden brown.
Serve the taiyaki warm. You can reheat a cold taiyaki in the toaster oven until it’s crispy on the outside.
Cakey vs. Crispy Taiyaki
Each shop and family has its own recipe and style of taiyaki. My taiyaki recipe leans toward a cakey, fluffy pancake texture as my kids prefer it that way. I actually like mine to be on the crispy side, like waffles.
If you also like a crispy texture, omit the egg and adjust the liquid amount for the taiyaki batter. I have a recipe for Crispy Taiyaki with an eggless batter that you can follow.
Types of Taiyaki Filling
Making taiyaki is very similar to a waffle making. The only extra touch is the filling. What kind of filling should we prepare?
Without a doubt, sweet red bean paste (anko) is the most classic and popular choice of filling. When I don’t have time to make my homemade red bean paste, I buy a can of ogura-an. The texture of the red bean paste is very smooth and easy to use.
You can find other sweet and savory options as well:
- Custard cream (recipe)
- Chocolate
- Nutella
- Cheese
- Sweet potato paste, and more!
My 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!
More Japanese Street Snacks You’ll Love
- Imagawayaki (Obanyaki)
- Manju
- Dorayaki (Japanese Red Bean Pancake)
- Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes (Yaki Imo)
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
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.
I made these today and put way too much in the mold! Came out super fluffy but all my filling was squeezed out. When they say 60% believe it. Thank you for the recipe
Hi Dani! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us.
We wish you success on your next attempt! 🤗
Tried this recipe, came out nice! 1 comment I got though is that there is a smell from the taiyaki batter. Is this from the cake flour? If yes, how can I omit this smell?
Hello, Kristin! Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe!
What kind of smell did you notice? It might be because of the kind of eggs. If you like, you may add some vanilla extract.
We hope this helps!
Made this taiyaki with your homemade anko 😊 Out of this world, as always. Love all your recipes so much!
Hi Shelli! Aww.🥰 We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe as well as Nami’s Anko recipe.
We appreciate your warm compliments regarding Nami’s recipe and your support.
Happy Cooking!
These came out so good! Though, I agree with another commenter that I would love to know how to get these taiyaki to be crispier. I also made the koshian anko to go inside here too and it was splendid! Thanks for helping me travel to Japan without leaving my kitchen!!
Hi Becki! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your feedback!
We will make sure to add a crispy version of this to Nami’s list!☺️
Hey Naomi…..Thank you so much for the taiyaki and anko recipes….I also used raspberry jam in some of the taiyaki….I preferred the taiyaki with anko better….It was fun to make and rather easy once you figure out the proportions….Will definitely make it again….Thank you again
Hi Gwen! Beautiful Taiyaki!😍Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us!
Nami and JOC team are so happy to hear you enjoyed the Taiyaki recipe!
Hey Nami, I’ve tried your recipe and I’m glad to say it turned out beautifully!
I do also however, prefer my taiyaki to have a more crispy waffle-like crust, and noticed that you’ve mentioned omitting the egg and adjusting the liquids to achieve this.
I’d be interested in attempting a crispier version and was wondering how much liquids should be added for a crispier taiyaki?
Thank you!
Hi Rico! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear it turned out beautifully!👏🏻
We currently do not have a crispy version, but Nami is creating one soon. We hope we can share the recipe with you shortly!
Hi, can we leave the batter more then 1h? How long does the batter can rest in the fridge for? Thankyou❤
Hi NIKi, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
You can keep the batter in the air-tight container and place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
We hope this helps!
My taiyaki will often deflate after it cools down. Any tips? And what’s the best way to store and reheat leftovers? Thanks
Hi Kristine! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
The immediate temperature change may result in deflating the Taiyaki. You can try cooling off the Taiyaki in the warm oven with the door open.
To store the Taiyaki, first, you can wrap it individually with plastic wrap after it cools completely. Then place in the air-tight container and store in the fridge or freezer. To reheat the Taiyaki, put them in the oven or oven toaster are the best.
We hope this helps!
Hi, Do you think this would work in a mini muffin pan and baked in the oven? I need to make 24 bite sized ones for my culinary arts students
Hi, gem! We wish we have an answer, but we have never tried this recipe in the oven.
If you try it, let us know how it goes!
I got a lovely nambu tekki taiyaki pan before leaving, and put off trying it out because it seemed like a lot of work (had to pull out my tabletop gas burner, etc). However, this batter went together really fast and they cooked up easily and were so excellent! After reading the comments, I decided to not use the baking soda, just baking powder, and I was happy with the result. I always found taiyaki from really traditional old shops (versus from chains with a lot of extravagant seasonal fillings) a little bitter, and maybe that’s why, if it’s traditional to use both.
Hi Janelle! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
We are so happy to hear homemade Taiyaki turned out well and you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback.
You don’t have to use gas. I’ve only ever made taiyaki on my electric stove top.
Hi Nami chan, I don’t understand the use of both baking soda and baking powder, I think the baking soda will make things taste acidic since there’s no acid ingredients in the list.. must we use the two ingredients or opt for baking powder only? Which one is safer and yield better result? Thanks ❤️
Hi Jeanne! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe.
The majority of Taiyaki recipes use both soda and powder. And baking soda would help a nice browned color in a short time baking.
To balance out the recipe to taste a little tangy and enough amount to lift the batter and have a nice browned color, this was the best result.🙂
You could use the baking powder alone, but you have to increase it a bit more to achieve the lift, and your finished baked treat might taste too acidic.
We hope this helps!
I am absolutely so grateful for this recipe! I made 4 taiyaki for my family and they love it a lot! Thank u thank u thank u so much! I love taiyaki and i love your recipe!
Hi Cindy! We are so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed Taiyaki!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!☺️
Nice. will make the nutella and probably cheese filling if i find that fish mold. Thaks for sharing
Hi Doods! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post! We hope you will give it a try one day soon!
You can find Taiyaki mold at Amazon shop. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YBC17FK?ref=exp_justonecookbook_dp_vv_d
We hope this helps!
Hi , the recipe came out perfectly , soft and cake like and I also used anko. However, I also prefer the crispy style you mentioned and you said to omit the egg and adjust the liquid? What exactly do I adjust ? I’d love to make the crispy style I’m used to having 🙂
Hi JK99, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
One egg 50g is 50ml, so that you can add an extra 50ml of milk or water to this recipe instead of one egg.
We hope this helps!
You say whole milk in the recipe, would 2% do?
Hi Brian, You may notice the texture difference due to the difference in fat contained, but 2% would work for this recipe.
The batter/taiyaki will be moister if you use whole milk. We hope this helps!