*Takoyaki is a popular Japanese street food made from batter and usually filled with pieces of octopus (“tako”), then grilled (“yaki”) in a special molded griddle until crisp on the outside and soft in the inside Masaaki-sama’s Sacred Word Sauce? Who needs it. As for mayo—don’t even think about it. What I have here, seated before me—courtesy of my wife, Mami, who is making her name as a vegan beauty—is Jupiter itself! Ah . . . I was wrong—it’s takoyaki. I think it was from looking too long at the round molded wells of the takoyaki griddle sitting on the dining table—my eyes went into planet mode. And to be more precise, this is takoyaki without the “tako,” octopus. Some people say we could just remove “tako” from the word “takoyaki,” but a dish called “yaki,” or just “grilled,” wouldn’t make much sense. While being enveloped in the steam coming from the rice and miso soup, takoyaki-making by my wife is happening right before my eyes, brimming with live energy. She pours the batter into the takoyaki griddle’s wells of Jupiter (I can’t help calling it Jupiter), then the sizzle, then the waiting and the rotating of the balls, the children’s “wows,” my “oohs,” my wife’s “aahs,” the sprinkle of aonori (green nori flakes). The festive feeling is amazing! But what I want to highlight is the flavor. To put it mildly, it’s takoyaki, pure and simple. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. What’s more, eating them fresh off the griddle—huffing and puffing to cool them down while saying “hot, hot, hot!” Before, thinking that the texture of the wood ear mushrooms was a bit similar to octopus, we first cut them into large pieces to liken them to octopus. At first it seemed like an ingenious discovery, but in actually, it was only so-so. In the end, I recommend this time’s recipe by Mami. I’d like to talk a little bit about wood ear mushrooms now. The Chinese characters that make up the word are actually “wood” and “ear,” making the word “kikurage.” It is explained in Mami’s recipe, but please, be sure to dry wood ear mushrooms under the sun (in the case that you buy them fresh, dry mainly in the afternoon sun for 2 to 3 days). Fungi like wood ear mushrooms emerged before things like animals and plants branched out, so they are way more senior to even dinosaurs. And to cut to the chase, wood ear mushrooms are a miracle food. They are packed with vitamin D (for strong bones), which is usually said to be found only in animal sources (mainly fish). Wood ear mushrooms . . . O, wood ear mushrooms! In our home, we hardly ever eat mushrooms, but wood ear is an exception. If you are vegan, you definitely want to be eating this. By having wood ear mushrooms lay out in the sun, for some reason vitamin D increases astronomically (connection to Jupiter!). Fish and eggs cannot compare. I say with certainty that the food God prepared for the intake of vitamin D is not fish, but wood ear mushroom. If you are vegan: get exposure to sunlight and eat wood ear mushrooms. Strengthen your bones that way—particularly pregnant women, children, people of advanced age and post-menopausal women. Sun exposure and wood ear mushroom. I encourage you, by all means. Back to the subject at hand. The firm bite from the wheat flour and at the same time, the soft chew from the rice flour. We often hear that in Osaka, they eat okonomiyaki (a Japanese savory pancake, especially popular in Osaka) together with rice. In our home, it would be like takoyaki with rice and miso soup—“takoyaki special.” Wait, that would be disrespectful to rice and miso soup. “Rice and miso soup with takoyaki on the side” is more like it. That is how much rice we eat together with side dishes. The point is, this takoyaki goes supremely well with rice. Mami’s own invention: vegan, tako-free takoyaki. Thinking about how another amazing recipe has appeared, I watched the dance of the planets—planets, not takoyaki—as they spun before my eyes, and I found myself alone, deep in contemplation of the infinite possibilities that vegan food holds, my thoughts traveling into the vast cosmos. The end.*** Today is Masaaki-sama’s sacred birthday—our sincerest Happy Birthday! (The original Japanese post was published on March 21.) Masaaki-sama’s Sacred Word about Mami-okusama’s recipes are more interesting than any novel we’ve ever read, and there is no other writing in the world that strikes at the truth so precisely! From his Sacred Word at services filled with passion for salvation to his writing brimming with humor and live energy as he contemplates the cosmos—we tip our hats again and again to the incredibly talented Masaaki-sama. We heard that Masaaki-sama’s family would celebrate his sacred birthday today with a dinner celebration featuring this vegan takoyaki. The tako-pa (short for “takoyaki party” or more like “takoyaki get together”) is old news. The era of the vegan tako-pa is upon us! Let us follow Masaaki-sama’s family and enjoy rice and miso soup with takoyaki on the side to our hearts’ content in celebration of Masaaki-sama’s sacred birthday! Mami-okusama’s Original Recipe 👇 Mami-okusama advised us that in addition to wood ear mushrooms, adding aosa (green laver) is also key.The vegan takoyaki that Masaaki-sama says goes perfectly with rice and needs no sauce—we humbly present this original recipe! ✨ Ingredients (Makes about 40)Batter:• All-purpose flour … 160g• Rice flour … 40g• Kombu broth … 600ml• Soy sauce … 2 teaspoons• Salt … a pinch Fillings:• Cabbage … 150g (minced into 5mm pieces)• Carrot … 70g (minced into 2–3mm pieces)• Pickled red ginger … 25g (minced into 2–3mm pieces)• Aosa (green laver) … 3g (lightly crumbled)• Sun-dried wood ear mushrooms (dried) … 4g (minced) For cooking:• Sesame oil … 1+ tablespoons Finishing:• Soy sauce … small amount, enough for brushing• Aonori (green seaweed flakes) … as desired Preparation① Rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms in water and drain well.※ The soaking liquid contains lots of nutrients, so use it when cooking rice or in miso soup.② Chop the rehydrated wood ear mushrooms into bite-size pieces, about 4–5mm.③ Mince all vegetables finely. Instructions① Make the batter• In a bowl, add the all-purpose flour, rice flour, kombu broth, soy sauce, and salt, and mix well.◎ The ideal batter should be light and liquidy.• Add the cabbage, carrot, pickled red ginger, aosa, and wood ear mushrooms and mix in. ② Cook (using a cast iron takoyaki griddle)• Heat the takoyaki griddle over medium heat for 2–3 minutes to preheat thoroughly.• Generously coat not only the wells but also the entire surface of the griddle with oil.• Pour in the batter.◎ The trick to fluffy takoyaki is to fill in not just the wells with batter but let the batter overflow onto the griddle surface.• Leave undisturbed for 1–2 minutes, until the bottom sets.• Use a pick to tuck the surrounding batter into the center of the wells while rotating to form balls.• Continue cooking for 3–4 minutes, rolling them around. When the surface is crispy and fragrant, they’re done cooking! ③ Soy sauce finish• When the takoyaki are basically done, brush soy sauce on the surface with a pastry brush.• Roll them around while cooking, 10–15 seconds.◎ The savory aroma of soy sauce fills the air! ④ Final touch• Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with aonori.◎ The ocean aroma rises gently—it’s time for exquisite takoyaki!