rolled Japanese omelet

dashi maki tamago

Some sushi connoisseurs suggest that you begin your meal with a piece of hand-formed sushi topped with rolled Japanese omelet in order to test a sushi bar’s rice and vinegar mix. The omelet is slightly sweet in flavor and succulently moist. It’s best to use a square Japanese omelet pan, but you can use a round pan and trim the round ends off the omelet. Once prepared, it keeps for a day wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated.

MAKES 1 omelet | PREPARATION TIME 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs, beaten | ¹⁄₂ cup dashi stock | 2 tbsp sugar | 1 tsp salt | 1 tbsp sake (optional) | 1 tbsp mirin (optional) | 1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

METHOD

1 Combine the eggs and all the remaining ingredients, except the oil, in a mixing bowl. Heat the oil in a square omelet pan; wipe away excess oil with a piece of folded paper towel. Drop a small amount of egg mixture into the pan to test the temperature. If it sizzles, the pan is hot enough. Ladle one-third of the mixture into the pan, so that the base is thinly covered.

2 Cook over medium heat until the surface begins to set and the edges begin to crisp.

3 Fold the omelet toward you in quarter sections using either chopsticks or a fork.

4 Push the folded omelet to the far end of the pan.

5 Add a little more oil to the exposed surface of the pan. Ladle in enough egg mixture to coat the base of the pan. Gently lift the folded omelet to allow the egg mixture to cover the entire base of the pan.

6 When the egg begins to set, fold it toward you in quarters, with the first roll at the center.

7 Shape the omelet roll by gently pushing it against the side of the pan. Repeat the process until all the egg mixture is finished. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool before cutting.