Tamago: My First Attempt

The Japanese seem to have an affinity for sweets with their savouries. Kare (curry) rice, teriyaki chicken and inari deep-fried tofu bags all have sugary sweet nuances. Tamago, or Japanese omelette is another favourite that appeals to my rampant sweet tooth. This layered omelette is flavoured with dashi stock and soy and sweetened with mirin rice wine and sugar. I often leave my tamago sushi till last in my obento box, thinking of it as my dessert sushi, allowing me to savour its light texture and sweet flavours.

Because tamago is often served as rectangular slices, a special rectangular or square tamago pan is required. I excitedly purchased one on my trip to Japan in 2004, but my trepidation at the pressure of rolling it neatly meant its inaugural outing only occured during last month's homemade sushi caper. Almost two years gathering dust in the kitchen cupboard!

I had watched animated chefs on Japanese pay TV rolling tamago with ease. It didn't look that hard, but it seemed there was a definite trick to it.

Tamago
5 medium eggs
4 tablespoons of dashi stock*
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon mirin
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
salt

* Dashi stock powder can be found in larger Asian groceries stocking Japanese lines.

1. Without creating any froth, beat the eggs until they are glossy and smooth. This is done by drawing the letter Z with a pair of chopsticks along the bottom of the bowl. Strain the eggs through a fine sieve to remove any white coagulations. I didn't do this, thinking they would somehow disappear. Of course they didn't, creating unsightly white patches which were somewhat rubbery. So do take the time to sieve.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the egg and mix well, taking care not to beat any air into the mixture.

3. Heat your lightly oiled non-stick tamago pan and pour in about 1/4 of the mixture. Take care that the heat is moderate so the egg doesn't brown.

4. When the egg has almost cooked (about 85%), roll the crepe forward over itself until you have a flattened Swiss-roll-like object closest to you. I found these easiest way to do this was to use a spatula to lift the egg slightly, and chopsticks to help roll it over.



5. Push the roll to the back of the pan and grease lightly again, making sure that oil gets under the egg.

6. Pour in another quarter of the mixture, lifting the roll so the new mixture swirls underneath.



7. Repeat steps 4-6 until complete.

8. Remove tamago from pan and using a sushi mat, compress into a compact rectangular shape (watch the hot liquid which may run out).

9. Cool in the fridge until you are ready to slice and serve on rice or beds of nigiri sushi.



As you can see, there was some visible browning on my first attempt (I'm blaming that on when I paused to take photos-lol) but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Obviously practice makes perfect. Sushi anyone?

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Home-made sushi - Sushi spectacular, Jun 06