by Maki Watson

Dining is not only about taste. It is about harmony among our five senses: touch, taste, hearing, eyesight, and smell. I think that eyesight is very important one with ‘dashimaki-tamago’, as the brilliant yellow of pasture-raised organic eggs does the perfect job of brightening the palette of tables or lunch boxes. Yes, dashimaki-tamago is one of the most staple dishes found in Japanese lunch boxes, or ‘obento’!

There are two types of dashimaki-tamago, sweet or savoury. It’s up to you. My mum made sweet rolled omelette, so I believed all the rolled omelettes were sweet! But when I grew up I find out that there were savoury versions also and I preferred it. So my dashimaki-tamago is always savoury.

In Japan you can find a special rectangle-shaped frying pan for preparing dashimaki-tamago, however I use round pan here and it’s still possible. And if you don’t have sushi mat as mentioned below, use plastic wrap instead.

Please enjoy this recipe series which was developed as part of our ‘Itadakimaaasu! Japanese Cooking Workshop’ that was held at the Co-op in July when winter (and not COVID) was in fuller flight! Dashimaki-tamago is the second ‘okazu’ or side-dish in the published series. There is one more okazu we’ll be sharing in this series before we finish with a popular winter sweet treat!

Ingredients with an ‘*’ are available for purchase at The Food Co-op (when in season)! Order them online here.

Recipes quantities are for serving 2 people.

Ingredients:

*Eggs – 3
*Shouyu (soy sauce)/Tamari (wheat-free ‘strong’ soy sauce) – 1 tsp
*Mirin – ½ Tbls
*Raw Sugar – ½ tsp
Dashi-shiru (Japanese stock) –  3 Tbls (see the #1 post in this series to learn about making your own dashi)

Method:

1. Gently whisk the eggs in a bowl, do not over mix.
2. In another bowl, combine the seasoning and mix well.
3. Pour the seasoning mixture into the egg mixture and stir in gently.
4. Heat a frypan over medium heat, dip a folded paper-towel in oil and apply to the pan.
5. Pour a thin layer of egg mixture in the pan, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan.
6. After the bottom of the egg has set but the top is still slightly undercooked, start rolling into a log shape from one side to the other. 
7. Quickly pour in another layer of egg mixture, and roll in this next layer when ready. 
8. Repeat until all the egg mixture is used up.
9. Remove from the pan and place the omelette on the paper towel and wrap it. Shape the egg when it is still hot.
10. Slice the omelette into 2cm pieces.