Japanese octopus balls (Takoyaki)

1. In a bowl, mix the flour with the eggs, cold dashi, soy sauce and salt into a thin, lump-free batter, then pour into a jug with a spout.

2. Cut the cooked octopus into 1 cm cubes, slice the spring onions thinly and chop the pickled ginger finely; for the sauce, mix the Worcestershire sauce with the ketchup.

3. Heat the takoyaki pan (a pan with half-sphere hollows) over medium-high heat and brush the hollows and the area between them generously with oil.

4. Pour the batter into the hollows – it can even overflow a little; drop a piece of octopus into each one and sprinkle everything with spring onion and ginger.

5. After 2 minutes, run a skewer round the edge of each hollow, tuck the overflow under the balls and turn them a quarter turn; keep turning for 5-6 minutes until you have round, evenly golden, crisp balls.

6. Transfer to a plate, drizzle with the sauce and mayonnaise, sprinkle with katsuobushi and crumbled nori and serve piping hot.

Tip: Takoyaki is Osaka's legendary street food – the inside is almost creamy, so careful, it's very hot! If you don't have a takoyaki pan, you can use a Danish aebleskiver pan.