Tamagoyaki is an extremely common food found in Japan. It’s often served with meals and placed in bento boxes. The combination of sweet egg, dashi stock, and nori sheets, makes for a unique flavor that is extremely comforting. Rolling this omelet also creates a visually appealing swirl with the nori sheet inside that will make any bowl of rice seem extra special.
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
I have always been a fan of Japanese cooking since I was old enough to babysit and would watch the ORIGINAL Japanese Iron Chef episodes. Those dishes were so different from what I had seen in the states and yet they had a warm comforting look about them. A year or two ago I started watching Youtube channels in which someone is preparing a bento box and the idea of egg with rice seemed strangely appealing so I decided I was going to try to make it.
I bought a Tamagoyaki pan (which was fairly cheap), as well as the nori or seaweed sheets. I was surprised by the strange flavor combination, of sweet sugary egg, with dashi stock (a kind of fish broth), and seaweed, but they do go together!
I’ve also adjusted this recipe slightly since I don’t always have time to brew dashi (so I’ll just add a few pinches of the granules to the egg instead), and I’ll be showing you the original way to make this, as well as a lower calorie option for those of you. This recipe is for one rice bowl.
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
1 cup cooked rice (less for lower calories)
3 eggs (for lower calories use 2 eggs)
Dashi granules (2-3 pinches, OR you can make dashi stock and use 3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons sugar (for lower calories use 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Furikake
Kewpie Mayo
1 sheet nori Cut into 4 square pieces (if you don’t like seaweed you can remove it altogether, or substitute cheese instead!)
chopsticks for cooking (trust me it is easier than you think)
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
*ProTip before we start: Eggs can be really temperamental around heat, so instead of turning off the heat when you’re rolling or if you think your egg is cooking too fast, just move the pan away from the heat source. This way the main temperature stays consistent and you don’t have to wait for things to heat up over and over.
1.) First, rinse and start cooking your rice.
2.) Combine the eggs, dashi, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. Scramble together. Transfer mixture to a large measuring cup as this will make it easier to pour.
3.) Coat your Tamagoyaki pan in cooking spray and add about a fifth of your egg mixture to the pan. Just enough to fully coat it making sure to tilt the pan to cook the egg up the side of the pan farthest from the handle (this will make it easier to start rolling. Place one-quarter of your nori sheet in the pan with the eggs while they are cooking.
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
4.) After the bottom of the egg has set but still soft on top, start rolling into a log shape from one side to the other. I use chopsticks but you can use a spatula (I did when I first started making this), but I feel like the chopsticks offer more control.
5.) Roll, until you no longer see the nori, and then carefully move the omelet to the far side of the pan and add more egg and another sheet of nori. Wait until the egg is mostly set and start rolling again. Keep repeating this process until you’ve run out of nori.
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
6.) Once finished, roll the entire omelet out on a cutting board and with a very sharp knife, cut it in half to reveal the spirals. Then cut each half into three pieces. Put rice into a bowl and sprinkle with either the furikake, or soy sauce, or both! arrange the tamagoyaki around the edge and top with a bit of Kewpie mayo.
*** If you really like these you can make them and store them for up to 2 weeks in an air-tight container in the freezer!
*** Don’t be afraid to play around with what you add! I’ve substituted the nori for green onions, imitation crab sticks, and cheese (which my husband said was dangerous because it tasted so good).
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
If yours doesn’t turn out just right on the first try, don’t worry (mine didn’t either), it takes some practice but once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun and easy to whip up. If you liked this post and would like to be notified of future posts, please SIGN UP HERE! Also, check out my SHOP for those last-minute gifts! While this might not have been a Christmas post, I still hope you enjoyed it and that it inspires you to try something new for your meals! Thanks for reading! -Heather Astaneh
How to Make a Tamagoyaki Rice Bowl by autumnbecomes.me
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