Dashimaki Tamago

Another use for dashi

This fluffy, layered, slightly sweet omelet is served in market stalls throughout Japan,
and has an important place on the table at New Year’s Day celebratory feasts. The omelet is
a mixture of eggs, dashi, and soy sauce, cooked in a rectangular pan in thin layers that are rolled up over one another. You can find a rectangular pan in a Japanese market, but don’t kill yourself over it—you can still make a fine omelet in a round skillet.

Makes 1 omelet

• 3 large eggs
• 5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) soy sauce, plus additional for serving
• 20 grams (11⁄2 tablespoons) sugar
• 90 milliliters (6 tablespoons)
• dashi 
• Vegetable oil spray
• 80 grams (1⁄2 cup) grated
• peeled daikon, for serving

• In a bowl, thoroughly whisk together the eggs, soy sauce, sugar, and dashi. Set aside.

• eat a small nonstick skillet (preferably a rectangular one) over medium-low heat and spray with oil. Pour in just enough egg mixture to coat the bottom of the pan. When the egg is half set, use a rubber spatula or a pair of chopsticks to begin folding it over on itself, starting at the side closest to you with a fold of about 2 centimeters (3/4 inch). Continue folding/rolling until you reach the end of the pan. 

• Pour more egg mixture into the empty side of the pan, just enough to cover the bottom. Lift the already-rolled omelet to allow some of the uncooked egg mixture to run underneath. Repeat the rolling procedure, this time beginning with the other end, so you’re rolling the second omelet around the first. Keep the heat low enough that the egg is not becoming crisp and brown, but rather staying soft and creamy.

•  Repeat step 3 until you’ve used all your egg mixture or the omelet is too big to roll. (This will depend on the size of the pan you’ve chosen.)

• Turn the omelet out onto a plate and allow it to cool and set. If you have a bamboo sushi roller, wrap it in plastic wrap, roll the omelet inside, and exert a little pressure to form the omelet into a perfect rectangular shape. In lieu of a bamboo roller, you could use a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

• Once the omelet has cooled to room temperature, cut it in 2-centimeter (1-inch) slices and serve with grated daikon drizzled with soy sauce.

ABOUT THE BOOK



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