Tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki means grilled egg in translation, and is a type of Japanese omelette.  There are different types of tamagoyaki depending on the additional ingredients for different purposes or occasions, and sometimes those are called differently such as “dashi maki tamago” or “date maki tamago.”  Special ingredients such as shrimp or fish puree, dashi stock or grated mountain yam are added to those special ones. But in everyday life, simple tamagoyaki is the one most people would make. Depending on the region, a small amount of dashi stock is added, but here I present a recipe with no dashi.  This sweet omelette is good to eat anytime of a day, but it is a very popular item for lunch boxes. Of course it was one of my favorite, and it is now for my kids.

So what makes tamagoyaki special is that it is layered.  I will show you how in this post, but to be honest with you, I don’t know how important the layering is.  If you just made a regular omelette with the ingredients below, it would still come out nicely with its combination of sweetness and the slight saltiness of soy sauce.  In fact, my mother often skipped the layering process for lunch boxes if she was busy, but I still loved it. So please try this omelette anyway even if don’t want to bother making it in “right way” because the taste is always good no matter how you make it.

To make tamagoyaki, typically a rectangular Tamagoyaki pan is used, and this does help to make a nicely shaped one.  But it is not necessary, and you can make one with a regular round pan. As matter as fact, I don’t own one, but I can make one just fine.  But if you would like one, I know you can buy it from Amazon.

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Tamagoyaki

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Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• pinch kosher salt

Instructions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Heat a pan over medium high  heat and brush the pan with a little oil or spray oil. Pour 1/3 of egg mixture in the pan and tilt the pan so that the egg mixture coats the surface evenly.  Lift the cooked egg allowing the uncooked egg to flow underneath the set ones.
2. When the egg is almost set (not completely), gently roll it  toward the bottom side. Move the rolled egg to the top side. Push the rolled egg to the top side.  Brush the pan with oil again, and pour another 1/3 mixture to repeat the process. At this time when you tilt the pan, make sure to lift the log so that the egg mixture gets poured below it.  Repeat one more time.
3. Now it is ready to serve.  If you want to make it prettier, you could use a bamboo mat for making sushi to shape the omelet while it is still warm.  Slice and serve.