Recipe: Dashimaki Tamago, the iconic Japanese rolled omelet
The term "dashi"maki tamago originates from the inclusion of dashi, a fundamental Japanese broth, in addition to the core ingredients such as eggs (tamago), sugar, sake, and soy sauce (the latter two varying depending on the recipe). Dashi serves as the base, often crafted from kombu seaweed and/or katsuobushi (smoked, dried, and fermented bonito flakes), with variations that may include dried mushrooms, sardines, or even modern twists incorporating umami-rich ingredients like tomatoes.
Tamagoyaki is crafted using a distinctive square-shaped pan known as "makiyakinabe," lending the finished omelet its elegant square form.
Perfecting the art of Tamagoyaki is both challenging and enjoyable, requiring an intuitive grasp of factors like temperature, time, and the intricate folding technique.
Ingredients:
6 eggs
50 g sugar
8 g sake
8 g soy sauce
15 g awase dashi or 1.5 g hondashi mixed with 15 g water
Steps:
Combine the sugar, sake, soy and dashi in a container, and gently heat it up, in a water bath, until the sugar is disolved. Cool down to room temperature.
Crack the eggs and run it through a sieve to get a nice uniform mixture
Add the seasonings to the eggs
Heat up the tamagoyaki pan with some oil
Add a scoop of the mixture in one layer
Fold while it is still a bit uncooked
Add a scoop more, lift with your chopsticks and get the mixture under your square of tamagoyaki
Fold and repeat, until you have the desired size
