Tamago-yaki (or Atsuyaki tamago/Dashimaki tamago) is a Japanese sweet rolled egg omelette. It’s a popular dish in Japan and if you’ve been to a sushi restaurant, chances are, you have eaten this one with or without knowing it. It’s usually in futomakis or egg roll sushi (tamago nigiri):

I first had this during my ever first visit to my then-boyfriend now-husband’s home in Japan. His mother made this and I was instantly in love. With the dish.

*blush*

I told her I really, really like it so she made me one every single day, everyday I was there. It was a great way for me to see how it’s cooked. That summer is forever etched in my memory as the summer that I stuffed my face with eggs.

*****

This recipe calls for very few ingredients and very easy to make – the only thing that could make it difficult could be the equipment needed if you don’t have it: a special square Nonstick Tamago Pan. But I have friends who don’t have these square pans who used a small fry pan instead and the tamagoyaki went well just the same. You just maybe, have to cut the edges to make it more presentable.

Ingredients:

• 3 pcs medium sized eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 Tbsp dashi stock * – made from 3 Tbsp of lukewarm water + 1 tsp of Japanese Hon Dashi Bonito Fish Soup Stock Granules
• 1 Tbsp Mirin*
• 1/2 tsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce*
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar *
• oil

Procedure:

1. Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl. Do not overbeat.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients marked with *.

3. Add #2 to #1.

4. Heat a bit of oil in the square pan under low to medium fire.

Note: If you’re a beginner, you might start with a low fire.

5. When the oil is hot, pour 1/3 of the egg mixture and gently stir. When the egg is less runny, starting from the curved side of the square pan, gently fold through as shown.

I usually use long chopsticks to do this but I’ll not scaring people away so I’m using a normal frying laddle here.

6. When the egg is rolled fully, ending up on the side near you, push it back towards the other end.

 7. Add a bit of oil again to repeat the procedure (pouring 1/3 of the egg mixture and rolling).

8. Pour the last remaining 1/3 egg mixture, repeat the rolling procedure again and remove from pan.

Note: Some people use bamboo sushi mats (makisu) to achieve that near perfect oval shape, molding the egg roll while it’s still hot. I however, don’t do that since no one is checking and because my husband doesn’t mind. If he does, he’d have to find another wife. It is written in our marriage contract.

This is how it looks like using a sushi mat, the advantage of which is of course, getting that beautiful oval shape while letting steam off. You can shape your rolled egg however you like using this bamboo mat.

The finished product:

Note: Leave it for a little while to allow some uncooked bits to cook within the layers. Some people do it with more layers (I did with only three) by dividing the egg mixture little by little and rolling. I only do that when I have extra time in the morning — which means the last time I did that was probably 10 years ago when I was single, living alone and definitely bored.

It’s time to enjoy a different morning egg! Don’t forget to put something in the lunch box along with some teriyaki chicken.