source for imagawayaki / obanyaki pan / machine?

[dinoo82]

Does anyone know where I can pick up a pan for cooking imagawayaki / obanyaki? preferably more than 10 wells

thanks!!!!

[tanuki soup]

Maybe not as big as you want, but I found this one at Rakuten (the biggest Japanese online shopping site).

http://en.item.rakuten.com/kitchensanki/i145/

If you want a big professional type, it will cost a lot. This one (which is one of the more reasonably priced ones) goes for around $3000 before shipping charges.

http://en.item.rakuten.com/kg-pro/3-0...

Hope this info helps.

[dinoo82]

cool thank you!!! have you ordered from this site before?

[tanuki soup]

Yes, many times, BUT I live in Japan. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Rakuten is a HUGE shopping website here. They even own a Japanese professional baseball team. It is the front end for more than 120,000 reputable online retailers. For example, Dyson Japan uses Rakuten to sell replacement parts for their vacuum cleaners.

I've never had any problems dealing with the Japanese site (except that everything is in Japanese!). It seems that they decided to branch out internationally a year or so ago. Their English translations are really bad (obviously machine translated), but IME, Rakuten is as reliable as, say, Amazon Marketplace.

I believe a couple of folks here at CH who live in the US have ordered from Rakuten. Hope someone can chime in with their experience.

[monku]

dinoo2,
That's what the unit looks like that my friend's group has. Because they use it at various locations the use propane which he said isn't as reliable.

[tanuki soup]

I think that propane (LP) is standard for these units because they are typically used in food stalls at fairs and festivals. Also, outside of major cities in Japan, private homes have large tanks of propane gas in the yard, and the gas company checks and replaces them as necessary.

[dinoo82]

hi tanuku soup!
thank you for the info!!! i really appreciate it. would you happen to know which one that doesnt use propane? thanks again for the help!

[tanuki soup]

Sorry, I should have checked more carefully before posting. If you look at the page I linked above (for the gas-powered unit), it seems that you can get each of the units in both propane (LP) gas and natural gas versions. If you scroll down to the tables in the middle of the page, the first column is the model, the second column is the order code for the LP gas (LPガス) version, and the third column is the order code for the natural gas (都市ガス -- literally, "town gas") version. The model shown in the link is actually a natural gas version, as indicated (correctly) in the description and on the original Japanese page. Thanks for nudging me to check my facts first!

PS. Hope the Japanese displays okay on your screen.

[dinoo82]

cool thank you so much for your help!

one last thing... are imagawayaki/obanyaki really popular in japan?

[tanuki soup]

I don't really care for red bean paste sweets, but imagawayaki are quite popular

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagawayaki

but it seems that I see the fish-shaped ones (taiyaki) more often, although they might just tend to catch my eye because they're kind of cute

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiyaki

[dinoo82]

just wanted to say thank you so much for your help and input =)

[dinoo82]

ahhhic... what do you mean that it isnt as reliable? thanks for the info again!

[monku]

Using it with propane outdoors the flame is subject to wind and the propane jets need to be "cleared" periodically because they get clogged from the batter. He said with natural gas you get a better flame and more consistent heat.
Luckily they've sold enough now that the machine has paid for itself.
Figure shipping and the agents (commission) $4,000 sounds about right.

[dinoo82]

ahhhic. did your friend have to modify the connection from the machine to the propane tank *since i assume it might be different between US and Japan connections*

[AdamD]

Now that I think about it, Korin in New York might be able to source a commercial machine for you.
http://korin.com/site/home.html

But I am certain it would be very expensive.

You could also try alibaba.com and find a trading company that supplies these types of machines. For example:
http://www.alibaba.com/member/jp10597...

[monku]

Not sure what kind of modifications they had to make.

Just an FYI:
After talking to my friend and another guy in Los Angeles known for making blueberry filled imagawayaki at festivals, they use that instant pancake mix from Costco.

[dinoo82]

thanks so much for your input and help! safe to assume that theres a big interest for imagawayaki at festivals eh?

[monku]

A friend told me his service club bought a 24 well imagawayaki grill (uses propane tanks) for fund raising and it cost them $4,000. He said the propane is more finickly to use than natural gas.

[dinoo82]

do you know where they got it from? thanks!!!

[monku]

I'll see what I can do.
He told me they ordered it from a "broker" and it was made and shipped from Japan.

[dinoo82]

ohhhhh if you can let em know that would be awesome!!!! thank you!

[BigSal]

These are not as big as you are looking for, but they work. The first is for making taiyaki. http://www.amazon.com/Taiyaki-Japanese-Fish-Shaped-Cake-Maker/dp/B00065YBEU We love it filled with anko. We also make it filled with pastry cream for my nephew and my non-anko eating husband.

I have this one too. http://www.asianutensils.com/obcopan.... It has the round shape for imagawayaki.

[AdamD]

http://www.mrslinskitchen.com/6097.html
http://www.asianutensils.com/obcopan....
You might need to find a commercial supplier to find something other than a 4 ring home use pan

[dinoo82]

i looked and ive found nothing :(

[AdamD]

I dont think they make a large pan for home use. Even in Japan.
My guess is that the commercial molds are only available when you buy the large machine for bakery use.

But as an alternative, why just buy three or four of the smaller pans?

[cutipie721]

How about a big griddle with multiple egg rings?

[dinoo82]

how does that look like?

[cutipie721]

Griddles.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=griddles&x=0&y=0

These are the egg rings
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=egg+rings&x=0&y=0

Then do it his style? Start at 1:55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWQstc...

I don't know how it'll all work out, I've never tried it myself. But if it fails, the investment you put in can be used somewhere else.

[dinoo82]

thats pretty creative... but not sure if it would look right compared to the real thing haha. ugh why is it so hard to find this?!?!

thanks though!

[la2tokyo]

http://en.item.rakuten.com/chuboya/20...

I was surprised I found one anywhere. A big one may be difficult to find unless you search Japanese sites until you find someone to mail it to you.