Tamagoyaki

The rolled omelet is staple in Japanese homes.  My husband has always made tamagoyaki for our family.  It has always been one of our son's favorite foods, and was a great way to use up lots of eggs when we had an overabundance.  People eat it for breakfast or in their bento boxes at lunchtime, or as part of dinner.  It is quick and simple to make.  Well, it is if you've been making it a while!

Photo courtesy of: Wikipedia.com

This morning, my husband was headed out the door when I needed to rustle up something for breakfast.  I recalled the recipe my husband told me the other day when he made it.  One egg, 1 teaspoon dashi, and 1 teaspoon mirin.  Sounds easy enough and I've watched my husband roll thousands of omelets.  He wouldn't be home to advise as I made my fist attempt at making tamagoyaki.  But how hard could it really be?

My son was excited.  He loves to help make the eggs.  From cracking them into the bowl to whipping them, he thinks it is great fun.  I added the dashi (from the vending machine) and the mirin while he blended the yolks and whites. 

I poured a small amount of eggs into the hot rectangular pan.  After just a moment, I curled up one edge and began to roll it.

I rolled it across the length of the pan and then brought it back to the side nearest the handle.  Pouring a bit more in the pan, I repeated the process until I ran out of egg.

For some reason, my tamagoyaki was triangular instead of rectangle.  I am not sure what I did wrong.  Also, my husband's never gets brown in each of the layers.  He must cook it at a lower temperature.

My son didn't care.  He gobbled it up anyway and gave me two thumbs up.  I guess I still have some practicing to do before I can make pretty tamagoyaki!