Word of Warning: The picture above is of a bitten-into tamago. I couldn’t wait for the camera! It isn’t an authentic recipe for tamago. Firstly, due to the fact that I don’t think the ingredients I used are actually right. I hear it should be made with that lovely mirin sauce and a soup base, both of which my mum is very adept at using but which I have none prepared. Secondly, I was sleepy! It was cold! I forgot about following the instructions and went about it wrong.Wasn’t too discouraged, however, as I’ve made a promise to myself to make this again this week just to see if I can actually make real tamago! I’m making a trip into town tomorrow and am looking forward to the search for the right oriental ingredients, and possibly some sweet buns. (Been having some pretty bad cravings for the oriental sweet treats lately) I’ve loved tamago since I was little and my little sister loves it too. Honestly, what is there not to like? Sweet egg…mmmm. If you’ve tried omelettes with jam, or apple omelettes, I’d say a tamago is a definite try then because it’s just soooo good. You can’t go on with life without having tamago. It’s classic.
I might have taken it a step too far. Too much drama when it comes to food maybe. But recently, that’s all I can really think about between the tv series I’m addicted to, revision (or at least attempts at) sessions and sleep. Besides, all the signs about me have been telling me – cook, dammit cook! Even the discover of snow outside my window and in the sorry excuse for a back garden brought a smile to my face and seduced me into running out in my pyjama shorts. It was fun kicking the snow about and fantasizing about having ice cream for breakfast! Of course I didn’t. It would have been too much of a shock to my system. And for all the bitching I’ve done this past week about the weather, it’s really begun to take a turn for the better. The snow has melted away by now but it was sunny all the way through today.
Now that I’ve completed my linguistics project paper, it’s as though I’ve not only shed a layer of worry but it seems The Big Guy has made the weather coincide with this sigh of relief and breath of fresh air I have. The last bit of snow melts away, washing away winter for new things to come! I’m more than thankful for it and indeed, raises my certainty that this year, spring will be pretty amazing in preparation for an even more wonderful summer. That also includes the hopes I have for the culinary line-up!
For now, I’m just going to have to keep my fingers crossed that my craving for Japanese food and oriental sweet buns either get satisfied or go away because it gets in the way of my concentration!!! Below is my recipe for pseudo tamago. Watch this space for the Second Attempt at authentic tamago.
Pseudo Tamago
Ingredients
- 2 free-range medium eggs
- 2 tbs white sugar
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Teriyaki marinade (I know! this was a well random ingredient, but I used it as a stand-in for mirin)
Whisk eggs well with sugar and sauces. Whisk enough to lighten the colour of the eggs.
Heat a square (ideally) or round pan that has been oiled lightly with butter, either with a kitchen towel or pastry brush. Make sure to oil the sides of the pan as well. When the pan is hot enough, you can test this by a drop of water that steams immediately upon contact with the pan, pour a third of the eggs onto the pan, lifting it quickly to coat all of the surface. When it starts to cook and the sides lift away from the pan, use a spatula to remove the egg gently from the pan. Flip and cook the other side of it. This should happen very quickly.
Using a pair of chopsticks and a small spoon to stabilize, start rolling an edge of the omelette away from you, all the while using the spoon to press down so the roll is compact. When you’ve rolled it to the other edge of the pan, pour the next third onto the pan, lifting the roll so that the mixture gets underneath it. Once is starts to cook, roll the cooked roll back towards you gently with chopsticks and spoon. Repeat with the rest of the egg mixture. Finally when it’s all rolled up and cooked, remove from pan, cut and serve.
I suppose this wouldn’t look exactly like what you get in restaurants but the taste was so good! I didn’t follow the technique above because it’d completely slipped my mind in my excitement to have tamago for breakfast. What are the chances?! What I’d done was cook all of the mixture at once. Indeed, what an idiot. But I wasn’t too bothered because I ended up with a super-massive roll. And it was my first try. I’m looking forward to the second attempt. Hopefully I’ll perfect the technique, make a beautiful tasting tamago and get it to look less burnt than this one!
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