Home cooking: Tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki, Japanese rolled omelette, is a quintessential part of Japanese home cooking and a staple in almost every bento box. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of tamagoyaki: dashimaki, which is typically savoury and flavoured with dashi stock, and tamagoyaki, which is typically sweetened with sugar.

These rolled omelettes are almost always cooked in either a square or rectangular pan, resulting in a rectangular omelette block. For this recipe, I will be making the sweet tamagoyaki in a regular round pan because that is what I have at home. Those who plan to make tamagoyaki on a regular basis can consider buying a specific tamagoyaki pan, but a regular frying pan would work just as well.

Read on to find out how to make tamagoyaki.

Ingredient list for tamagoyaki

• 3 eggs
• Sugar
• Milk
• Soy sauce
• Salt
• Vegetable oil or butter for oiling the pan

Directions for making tamagoyaki

1. Crack all three eggs into a bowl.
2. Beat the eggs with a splash of milk and soy sauce, about a heaping tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt.
3. Pour some oil or melted butter into a small bowl and use a piece of kitchen paper to oil a small heated pan.
4. Use a ladle or pour about a thin layer of egg mixture into the pan. Let the bottom of the omelette set before folding the egg into thirds. Move the folded omelette to either the top or the bottom end of the pan.
5. Oil the pan with the kitchen paper again before pouring another thin layer of the egg mixture in. Tilt the pan so that some of the egg mixture goes below the folded omelette from the previous step. Fold the omelette when the bottom has set. Repeat until all the egg mixture is used up.
6. Transfer the completed omelette onto a plate or cutting board. For those who want their rolled omelette to be a rectangular block like a typical Japanese tamagoyaki, use some kitchen paper to shape it while it is hot off the pan.
7. Trim the ends to make it look more rectangular. Slice the tamagoyaki into equal pieces and enjoy in a sandwich, as a side dish or as a snack. Itadakimasu!