Takoyaki, the Engraved Memory.

My favorite Japanese street foods are okonomiyaki and takoyaki. 10 years ago I first tried takoyaki, or octopus balls from a corner stand in Little Tokyo. It was the most awesome party in my mouth (think about those reese's puffs cereal commercials. It was kinda like that). I then set on a quest to make this recipe that changed my perspective on Japanese food culture. Sure, there's plenty of youtube videos or online guides I can reference to, but that destroys the fun of making this meal. Everything was pure experimentation with a twist. I used a pancake puff because the takoyaki grills are too expensive.
This makes 14 balls or 2 servings:

Batter:
2/3 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup dashi soup mix
2/3 cup panko flakes

Filling:
1/2 lb. chopped cooked octopus
1/4 cup pickled ginger
1/3 cup chopped green onions.

Decoration:
Dried Bonito Shavings
Mayonaise
Okonomikayi Sauce
Aonori
Chopped green onions

Awesome

The inner workings

Batter

Always use the Pam. Put this on medium heat

You can put in the items first or the batter first, I chose batter first because I didn't want to overfill it. Put at least 50-70% in the holes

Then add all the chopped stuff

Looks like this:

Using a bamboo skewer patiently wait until bottom is hard enough to flip

The uncooked batter should roll around and coat other side when you flip it.
7 Dragon Balls

This took at least 10 mins. each batch
Wait until it is GBD (Golden, Brown, and Delicious)

Then get crazy with the toppings:

For 2nd batch I skewered them