Tamagoyaki | Articles on Japanese Restaurants | Japan Restaurant Guide by Gourmet Navigator
Tamagoyaki Summary
Tamagoyaki, also called "atsuyakitamago" is a Japanese dish where whisked chicken eggs are put in a frying pan or using a special tool called a tamagokayakiki and made by winding. It is a regular side in a bento, and one of home cooking. There are sweet ones with sugar in it, and slightly salty ones, with mirin, soy sauce, or mentsuyu, and there are varieties of seasonings used depending on the household. Like the miso soup, there are distinct flavors in each home and the preference differs depending on the person.
Wasyoku(Japanese Cuisine) encyclopedia : Tamagoyaki
Generally, the way of making it is the same. Eggs are whisked and mirin and sugar is added to taste, and the egg is wound, folded, and gathered towards the front. More whisked eggs are poured into the open parts, folded and wound again, and the task is repeated. There is a tool that makes making tamagoyaki easier called the "tamagoyakiki", which looks like a rectangular frying pan, and it is sold everywhere in the cooking utensil aisles, and commonly seen in the home. An easy way of arranging it is by adding nori while folding and winding, or adding scallions. for advance applications, Japanese restaurants use spinach or carrots, mentaiko or sakuraebi, dried shirasu, and there is a "umaki" where unagi is put in and wound, and there are many variations. It is also used as an ingredient for sushi, and it has been served since the Edo period.
In sushi restaurants, there is a tradition where one is not a proper chef until they can cook a good tamagoyaki, and it is an important part of the training for sushi chefs. In the Tsukiji market, there is a specialty restaurant called "kashitama(河岸玉)", and there are famous shops that make long lines. Though the "dashimaki tamago" is similar in appearance, they are very different. Dashimaki tamago is usually just called "dashimaki", and because dashi stock is added to whisked eggs and cooked, it has a moist and fluffy finish. This is why it is not very good for bento, and it is eaten as a side dish or accompaniment of alcohol. It is flavored with dashi stock, grated daikon raddish can be applied, and it is commonly eaten with a tiny bit of soy sauce.
