****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I lived in Japan for many years and the food was outstanding but the real comfort food was what you could get at those little yatai food stalls on the side of a neighborhood street. I always marveled at the skills of the takoyaki master - poking tasty goodness into those little hot balls of crunchy outside and molten batter inside around a chunk of octopus through dexterous handling of the pointed metal pick to turn the browning batter into perfect ball shapes.This little cast iron “12baller” is very sturdy as castiron should be. I seasoned it with a good castiron seasoning oil and baked it in my bbq with the handle off to give it a good hard coat that helps to prevent sticking.It took a bit to get used to as it heats up fast and retains heat longer compared to an electric tabletop one but it is more authentic and worth the extra effort to hone ones skills. I purchased the pointed picks to pick and rotate the balls as they cook and they work much better than the “flathead screwdriver” type tips that are child-safe.I use a bubble level to make sure the pan is flat on my bbq burner so the batter doesn’t run off the edge as much. Recently I tried shrimp rather than octopus and for breakfast made the batter with sugar rather than dashinomoto to make little berry “takoyaki.” The strawberry chunk and blueberries made comical faces.This pan will make you fond of making takoyaki with all kinds of different fillings.I paid for brand new price. However, this takoyaki pan is look like used and has rust on it. I didn't use it since it is arrived as picture. It probably didn't per-seasonal. therefore get rust on it. But it is stable on my gas stove and it is heavy. As it is cast iron, easy get rust on it and need to take care on it every time. Contacted to seller and going to return it.Pan is good. Use lot of oil for first few use to get seasoned. Awesome for indian style panniyaram and appam.. but one issue is i ordered for 12 moulds and paid for that.. but we received 9 moulds..as we got it as gift we could not return and change it.. hopefully pan is good so using that..I love this pan, but there are some things buyers should be aware of:The handle screws into the cast iron which is a little annoying when you have to lift it because it tends to swivel and loosen.It's a little small, so if you have a big propane stovetop it may not fit quite right.If you are new to making takoyaki, start off with 2-3 holes because mastering the rolling technique is WAY harder when dough is covering everything.So far I'm really loving this pan and have successfully made several takoyako with it! (Helpful tip, use LOTS of oil) Good luck!I've owned this takoyaki pan for about 6 weeks now and use it an average of twice a week. It is a dependable and sturdy pan. The holes are not shallow as compared to pans that are made for Thai Kanom Krok. This is expected because a traditional takoyaki pan is made to hold small pieces of octopus (aka "tako") versus a kanom krok pan that is made to hold small rice flour pancakes.I've also used this to make aebleskivers or poffertjes (small dutch pancakes) and they are perfect. I like the shape that this pan gives to most of the snacks I make with it.If you like playing with snack foods in the kitchen this is a great item to have. If you want to exclusively cook takoyaki then this pan is a must. The takoyaki and poffertjes will be crisp on the outside and cooked on the inside.When I clicked on the listing it said in the title it was for a 9-hole pan, but there were only options to purchase 12, 16, or 24. I purchased the 12-hole pan seeing others in the reviews had received a 12-hole pan, but a 9-hole pan arrived. Only rating two stars because it seems sturdy and decent quality, but the listing is incredibly misleading and I paid for 12-holes but only received 9. This was supposed to be a present for someone and I'm disappointed.As this is CAST IRON, remember to heat it up first. Let it cool down. Heat it up again and use some oil or butter - then let it cool down again. Do this a few times so it settles - if you don't then your first few tries will most likely end in sticky food :)Other than that, it is a great product. Use it for Danish Æbleskiver around xmas.Nice and sturdy heavy cast iron pan . Very well made and smooth finished . The only drawback with it is that it is smaller than it appears in the picture . The holes are also small sized in comparison to pancake puff pans . It is ideal for baking bite sized puffs and seafood fried appetizers like fried clams etc . Will be using fur just those kind of snacks .The pan works great! I’m a little disappointed that after 3 uses, I have tighten the handle. I tightened it really well... or so I thought. If I had to purchase another pan, it’s going to be a different one, with a handle attached already, solely because the handle shouldn’t come loose especially after only 3 uses.Exelente calidad, un poco pequeño pero era aprox lo que esperaba. Llego en busn estado y un dia antes de lo planeadoThe iron plate is very good. Meet my expectations.
