An angler's privilege.
Octopus rice cooked from raw tako, and whole-octopus takobutsu
Most octopus at the supermarket is just the legs — already boiled and seasoned.
A Tokyo Bay octopus you catch comes whole and alive: the raw skin, thick legs, suckers, and (for females) the roe.
So the cooking starts differently. Here's how to enjoy every part of that one octopus.
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Three reasons a caught octopus is special
The red comes from the skin
An octopus's red color is a pigment in its skin.
Boiled octopus already lost its color and umami to the water.
Only anglers, who bring it home raw with the skin, can cook it to a fresh red.
Two textures in one leg
Even one leg differs: the tip is fine and tender, the base is thick and springy.
Buying just the legs at a store, you can't choose this difference.
Tell male from female by the arms
On a male, one arm loses its suckers partway and ends in a spoon shape (the hectocotylus).
A female has suckers all the way down every arm.
Because you can tell, you can plan the dish the moment you land it.
What will you make today?
Just look at your catch and decide.
No bones — use it whole. One is just right for about 2 cups of rice.
The thicker it is, the better thin slices look and the more sweetness shows.
Small and quick to cook; frying brings out a savory aroma.
Mild but distinctive — a rich seasoning transforms it.
Prep decides the flavor
With raw octopus, this is 90% of it — the extra step you don't get with ready-to-use boiled octopus.
De-slime by “freeze, then thaw in water”
Freeze it once, then rinse while thawing under water — the slime comes off easily and cleanly, no salt needed. Easier and more reliable than rubbing with salt.
Freezing also tenderizes
Freezing breaks the fibers, so for boiled dishes it comes out softer than boiling from raw. Combined with de-sliming, freezing is all upside.
To boil, start “tip first”
For boiled dishes (takobutsu, etc.), lower the legs into boiling water tip-first so they curl neatly. Overboiling toughens it — a few minutes for small, 7–8 minutes even for large. * Octopus rice is cooked raw, without pre-boiling.
Each part has its own character
Because you have the whole octopus, you can play with the parts.
Leg tip
Cooks fast. Chopped, it adds a linking texture to rice dishes or karaage.
Thick leg
Springy and satisfying — the sheer thickness is the joy of a big octopus.
Head (mantle)
Actually tender and mild — a hidden star, good for kids or sashimi-style.
Suckers
A separate “crunch” from the body. The bigger the octopus, the bigger the suckers — a dish on their own.
Octopus rice, cooked from raw tako
The same rice
becomes a feast with one octopus.
Don't pre-boil. Cook it raw
No pre-boiling for octopus rice. Put raw octopus on the rice and cook — the umami and aroma go straight into the rice. Boil it first and that umami escapes into the water.
Raw shrinks — so cut it big
Raw octopus shrinks a lot when cooked. Cut it on the larger side so it has just-right presence when done.
Go heavy on the ginger
It doesn't just cut odor — it tightens the aftertaste even when cold. Use plenty of julienned ginger. Great in rice balls too.
Ingredients (for 2 cups of rice)
- Rice
- 2 cups (go)
- Raw octopus
- 150–200g
- Ginger
- 1 knob (generous)
- Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp
- Sake
- 1 tbsp
- Mirin
- 1 tbsp
- Kombu
- ~5cm
- Water
- to the 2-cup line
- To finish
- shiso, scallion, white sesame
Method
- 1Rinse the rice and soak for about 30 minutes.
- 2De-slime the octopus (see Prep); use it raw, without pre-boiling.
- 3Since it shrinks when cooked, cut it on the larger side (leg tips can be smaller for texture).
- 4Add rice, soy sauce, sake, and mirin to the rice cooker.
- 5Add water to the 2-cup line and lay the kombu on top.
- 6Place the raw octopus and ginger on top and cook.
- 7When done, remove the kombu, rest about 10 minutes, and fold gently.
- 8Garnish with shiso, scallion, and white sesame.
The star of octopus rice is actually the rice. Rather than adding too much octopus, focus on moving its umami into the rice.
Only anglers can cook it from raw — cooking it raw without pre-boiling is the top tip for not losing the umami.
Sashimi-style takobutsu, playing with condiments
It's not just cutting.
Condiments change the plate again and again.
Here, “sashimi-style” does not mean raw — it's cooked (boiled) octopus cut sashimi-style.
Change it up with condiments
The classic. Feel the octopus's sweetness directly.
Refreshing. Good in summer or with larger pieces.
Yuzu-kosho for aroma; sesame oil and salt for a snacky bite.
Too cold and the flesh tightens. Let it come back toward room temperature just before eating to bring out the sweetness.
Ingredients (for 2)
- Boiled octopus
- 150–200g
- Wasabi
- to taste
- Soy sauce
- to taste
- Ponzu
- to taste
- Yuzu-kosho
- optional
- Myoga / shiso
- optional
- Sesame oil + salt
- optional
Method
- 1Prepare de-slimed, boiled octopus.
- 2Cut by part (thick leg thin, leg tip thick, suckers as-is).
- 3Plate each part in its own cluster.
- 4Serve all the condiments at once in small dishes.
- 5Taste “part × condiment” side by side.
With takobutsu, the plating is part of the flavor — clustering by part makes the tasting fun.
Put all the condiments out from the start. The same octopus tastes different with every bite.
Lucky finds — the angler's “secret menu”
Small in quantity, but knowing them lets you enjoy the octopus to the last bit.
Roe (mako)
Salt-boiled octopus eggs are called “kaitoge,” a specialty of Akashi and elsewhere. Thorough cooking is a must, of course.
Ink
Octopus ink is scarcer than squid's and thin and watery. Not suited to rich ink dishes — realistically, “play” with it as a light color accent in risotto.
Notes
This article shares cooking ideas for enjoying a caught octopus at home.
Even dishes that start with raw octopus are meant to be eaten cooked: octopus rice is heated, and sashimi-style takobutsu basically uses cooked octopus.
If using innards, roe, or ink, check their condition carefully; if the smell, color, or freshness seems off, don't use them.
In midsummer or on long trips, take care to keep it cold.