Whisk the flour, salt, and instant dashi powder in a large mixing bowl. Make a well and add beaten eggs, soy sauce, and water. Mix well and set aside.

Heat your pan and generously oil each half circle with a brush or paper towel.

Once the pan is hot, pour the batter into each compartment up to the top. Don’t worry if batter flows over a bit, you’ll use the batter around the edges of the compartments to tuck it into the balls and make them perfectly round.

Sprinkle the octopus pieces, spring onions, tempura scraps, and ginger evenly.

After a few minutes, the bottom of the takoyaki will be cooked. Use a skewer or chopsticks to flip them over 90 degrees. If you can’t turn the octopus balls easily, it’s probably because they need to cook longer. Add more batter to fill the balls if needed, scraping any bits of batter on the sides into the balls.

Let them cook for about a minute, then flip them 90 degrees again.

Once lightly brown and crisp on the outside, the takoyaki are ready.

Place takoyaki on a serving plate and drizzle with Kewpie mayo, and takoyaki sauce, then generously sprinkle bonito flakes and aonori. Dig in!