Tamagoyaki
Tamagoyaki is not an omelette in the European sense — it is several very thin layers of egg rolled one onto the next, so that the cross-section shows clear rings. The secret is patience and temperature: the pan must be moderately hot, never smoking, because each layer has to set while staying slightly wet on top — otherwise it will not bond to the next and the roll comes apart.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Egg mixture 6 min
- Frying the layers 12 min
- Shaping 5 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneMix the eggs without aerating them
Beat the eggs with the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and salt using chopsticks or a fork, cutting through the whites rather than whisking. Air bubbles leave holes in the layers, and the cross-section stops being even.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs · 60 ml dashi · 1 tbsp mirin · 1 tsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 pinch salt
Strain the mixture
Pour it through a fine sieve. The chalazae — the ropy strands of white — and any thick clumps of white stay behind; in the finished roll they show up as firmer, paler spots. Ten seconds for a markedly more even cross-section.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs · 60 ml dashi · 1 tbsp mirin · 1 tsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 pinch salt
The sieve catches the ropy strands of white.Heat the pan over medium-low
Heat a rectangular pan and wipe it with kitchen paper dipped in oil. Test with a drop of the mixture: it should sizzle quietly, not violently. Too hot a pan gives brown patches — tamagoyaki should be evenly yellow.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil · 80 g daikon · 1 tsp soy sauce
Cook the first thin layer
Pour in a quarter of the mixture and spread it across the base. When the top is no longer liquid but still glossy and tacky, roll the layer up with chopsticks from one edge to the other. A dry layer will not bond to the next.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs · 60 ml dashi · 1 tbsp mirin · 1 tsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 pinch salt
Top still tacky — only then start rolling.Repeat three more times, pouring under the roll
Push the roll to one edge, oil the pan, pour in the next portion and lift the roll so the mixture runs underneath it. That movement is what welds the layers into one piece. Roll and repeat until the mixture is used up.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs · 60 ml dashi · 1 tbsp mirin · 1 tsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 pinch salt
Shape in a mat and rest five minutes
Turn the hot roll onto a bamboo mat, wrap and squeeze gently into a rectangular section. Leave for 5 minutes. A warm roll is soft and takes the shape; a cold one cannot be shaped at all.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil · 80 g daikon · 1 tsp soy sauce
The bamboo mat gives a crisp rectangular section.Slice and serve with grated daikon
Cut into 2 cm slices and serve with a mound of grated daikon splashed with soy sauce. The sharp, juicy radish balances the sweetness of the mirin and sugar.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil · 80 g daikon · 1 tsp soy sauce
Before you start
Without a rectangular pan
An ordinary small round pan works — the roll simply has rounded ends, which you can trim off. The bamboo mat takes care of the rest of the shape.
Savoury and sweet versions
In Kansai tamagoyaki (dashimaki tamago) is savoury, with plenty of dashi. In Tokyo it is noticeably sweeter — the version you know from sushi bars as tamago nigiri. This recipe sits in between: for the savoury style cut the sugar to 1 teaspoon, for the sweeter one add a second tablespoon.
For a lunch box
Tamagoyaki is just as good cold and keeps two days in the fridge. That is why it is a staple of bento — and why it is worth making a double batch at once.
