If you use frozen octopus, let it thaw in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. Hold the head of the octopus in one hand, let the tentacles hang down. Cut off the tentacles just below the eyes with a sharp knife.
Place the octopus in a bowl and rub it all over well with salt to remove sand and dirt while also making it more tender. Be careful when using an octopus that has not yet had its beak removed.
Bring enough water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. (The water should really only simmer slightly so that the octopus does not become tough.) Put the octopus in the water, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down a little and let the octopus steep for 10 minutes.
Take the octopus out of the hot water. Cooking should have changed its color to deep red and the tentacles should have ruffled a lot. Drain on a sieve and allow to cool.
When it has cooled, cut off the tentacles around the beak. Throw away the beak. Process the tentacles further. Octopus that you don`t need immediately can be frozen well. It lasts about 4 weeks.
Cut the spring onions into thin rings and the octopus arms into 16 pieces. Place the pan on the hotplate and set on medium to high heat. While the pan is getting hot, mix the flour, egg and the cold. Dashi in a dough bowl.
Brush the hot pan with oil. Especially in the hollows, but also in the spaces in between. Then half fill each well with batter. If some dough lands on the gaps, it doesn`t matter. Now quickly add the octopus, spring onions and agedama to each well. Then fill the hollows and distribute the rest of the dough between the spaces. We need the dough between the hollows so that the takoyaki are round and not remain hemispheres.
When the dough between the hollows has become almost completely firm, fold it with chopsticks or kebab skewers onto the nearest hollow, so that the gaps are gradually freed from the dough and small mounds appear on the hollows. Now you have to turn the takoyaki with chopsticks or skewers. Wait a minute. Then turn again.
Take the takoyaki out of the mold - it is best to just stick a skewer into it and lift the takoyaki out of the mold - and place on a plate. Garnish with mayonnaise, aonori and katsuobushi and serve immediately.
Another little tip: I do it a little differently when frying the takoyaki Instead of pouring the dough on the gaps, I just fill the cavities with dough and wait a moment. If they come off, I tilt them in the mold and pour in more dough. I keep doing that until they are really nice little balls.
There are special pans for takoyaki in specialist shops.
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