Tamagoyaki

Once in awhile, I'll feel adventurous and actually invest time in what I'm cooking for the week. Most recently, I decided to make homemade dashi (Japanese cooking stock). It's been awhile since I attempted, but was inspired to do it again after my Japan trip in April. The beauty of dashi is that you just need 3 main ingredients: 1) dried kelp, 2) bonito flakes, and 3) water. Secondly, you can store the dashi broth in your fridge or freezer for up to weeks. With dashi being a staple in most Japanese food, this gave me an opportunity to make various Japanese dishes with my new batch of homemade stock.

One of the easiest things you can make with dashi is simply: Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette). Unlike a regular American omelette, it's soft, delicate, and infused with Japanese flavors. I had the privilege of taking a hands-on cooking class with Chef Tomok while in Japan last April. She helped me understand the proper technique to make tamagoyaki, so now I can make it at home in the U.S.!

Note: You will need a special Tamagoyaki pan to make this dish. It can get it for under $30 from Amazon. This is the one I bought.

Tamagoyaki

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Yields: 2 serving

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs

• 4 tbsp dashi (Japanese cooking stock)

• ​Example recipe from Just One Cookbook

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/8 tsp salt

• Optional: ~1 tbsp minced daikon

• Olive oil

Directions:

• In a bowl, crack 4 eggs and whisk.

• Hold a strainer over a new bowl and pour the egg mixture through the strainer. Discard what remains in the strainer.

• Add dashi, soy sauce, Mirin, sugar, and salt to the egg mixture. Whisk all ingredients evenly together.

• Grease the tamagoyaki pan with olive oil, and place over medium high heat.

• Once the pan is hot, add a thin layer of egg mixture. Once it starts to set (but is still slightly runny on the top), carefully fold the egg 2 times (starting at the top of the pan) using a spatula or chopsticks.

• Push the rolled egg back to the top of the pan.

• Add another thin layer of egg mixture to the pan. Lift the rolled egg up to allow the egg mixture to seep underneath the first rolled egg. Once it starts to set (but is still slightly runny on the top), carefully fold the egg 2 times (starting at the rolled egg at top of the pan) using a spatula or chopsticks.

• Push the rolled egg back to the top of the pan. Repeat with the egg mixture until there is none left.

• Turn off stove and transfer the rolled omelette to cutting board. Cut perpendicularly into 1.5" slices.

• Transfer the sliced rolled omelette (tamagoyaki) to serving plate, and serve with minced daikon. Tamagoyaki can be served warm or at room temperature.