Friday, July 24, 2009

Countdown to the Tenjin Matsuri #2...

Tomorrow, July 25th, is the Tenjin Matsuri, one of the biggest and most popular summer festivals in Osaka. We’ve decided to help you countdown to the festival by teaching you how to say a different festival-related word in English every day. Today’s word is…

2) Takoyaki = Fried Octopus Dumplings

A “plate” of fried octopus dumplings
Generally speaking, a dumpling is any small lump or ball of dough, pastry or batter. Often dumplings contain small pieces of other food, either sweet or savory. Takoyaki are pan-fried balls of batter filled with pieces of cooked octopus, ginger, and shrimp. If you tell your English-speaking friends that they are “fried octopus dumplings,” they will quickly be able to imagine what you mean.

Many people call takoyaki “octopus balls.” This is a big mistake! In English, “balls” is a common nick name for testicles [kintama]. About a year after I came to Japan, my good friend Peter visited me. While showing him around Osaka, I asked if he’d like to try some “octopus balls.” He looked very surprised and disgusted. “I didn’t know they had any!” was his reply.

1 comment:

par3182 said...

oh no, don't remind me...