dashimaki tamago
This little rolled omelette is a fine breakfast or lunch with some rice, or a nice light dinner with soup, or a beautiful apres-bar snack. There is something about the lovely secret interior—not much to look at outside, hidden worlds within—that can go a long way toward restoring your faith in the world’s worth.
You can make it plain, fill it with nori, or go crazy and use the same technique with Western flavors for a beautiful pinwheel streaked with herb. It’s just up to you and your pantry.
Begin with two eggs per person. For every two eggs, prepare 2 tablespoons of dashi (instant is fine) and let it cool. Add two teaspoons of mirin and soy sauce. Taste. It should be salty, sweet, and a little ocean-y. Adjust flavorings as necessary. Let it cool if you used hot dashi, and then beat it into your eggs. Beat until no ropiness remains.
Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. If you have a square Japanese omelette pan, expressly for making tamagoyaki, by all means use it. But a small round pan is fine, too.
When it is hot, oil it with an oily paper towel held in some chopsticks. When the oil is hot, pour in a thin layer of egg (it should sizzle, but not puff up immediately) and wait for it to dry out around the edges and begin showing some bubbles in the center. The top should be moist, though not dry.
Cover the surface of the egg with nori, breaking pieces to fit them roughly if you need to. A little overlap is okay. Give the nori a moment to wilt, and then, using a flexible spatula and chopsticks, roll your omelet up tightly beginning at one side.
Push this omelette-cigar to one end of your pan. Is the outside brown in spots? Your heat is too high; lower it a little. Use your oily paper towel to wipe the pan clean and oil it again. Pour in another layer of egg.
Use your spatula to briefly lift the rolled portion and allow some of the runny egg to flow under it. When the egg is solid-ish, add nori and roll again.
Repeat until your egg is used up or your omelet is the right size. Keep the heat so that the egg cooks quickly, but does not brown. The finished omelet should be moist.
Tip it carefully onto a board and let it rest for a few minutes—it doesn’t need to be piping-hot. Compact it more with a bamboo rolling mat if you want to or it needs it.
Slice on the diagonal and eat.
Ideas: Beat the eggs with a couple tablespoon of white wine, a tiny bit of whole-grain Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper instead; sprinkle with chives on each layer. Or a very stingy sprinkle of Parm. A few arugula blossoms. Basically, any not-too-wet intensely flavored thing.
