Japanese Tamagoyaki Egg Omelet Salad
Thank you to Iron Chef Morimoto for his fantabulous Japanese egg omelet tamagoyaki recipe. (His Japanese Home Cooking Cookbook is a must!) I’ve been making tamagoyaki for years. However this is the closest I’ve come to actual sushi style Japanese egg omelet. Not too sweet, not too overcooked but just right! Domo arigato Iron Chef Morimoto.
Topping salad with the Iron Chef Morimoto tamagoyaki (egg omelet) and then drizzled with Kathleen Flinn’s dressing is divine! (Kathleen Flinn is the author of The Kitchen Counter Cooking School.)
This Iron Chef Morimoto inspired salad is healthy. It’s packed with protein AND deliciousness. There’s a bit of sweet in the egg that is balanced with the sterner edamame. Soft lettuce leaves dressed with rich sesame oil is accented with sharp ginger. Last and not least, the salad is light so you can eat dessert guilt-free!
Dashi (Japanese fish stock)
If you want to make your own dashi…(You can also buy pre-made dashi packets.)
3” x 5” kombu (dried kelp)
2 cups water
Handful of dried bonito flakes
Tamagoyaki (Japanese egg omelet)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup plus 2 T dashi (Japanese bonito fish stock)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 T sugar
Vegetable oil for coating the tamagoyaki pan
Salad
1 cup leafy lettuce
¼ cup Japanese edamame soy beans
¼ cup grated and/or chopped carrots
¼ tomato, sliced
Ginger Sesame Dressing
2 T vegetable oil
1 T sesame oil
2 tsps. soy sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
Dashi (Japanese fish stock)
Drop the kombu (dried kelp) into a saucepan with the water. Watch for little bubbles to emerge and break through the surface. Remove from the heat. Remove the kombu. Gently stir in the bonito flakes. Steep for 3 minutes. (A minute more and you’re heading for bitter soup stock.) Strain through a colander double lined with paper towel into a bowl. Lightly press the flakes. Discard the bonito flakes in the paper towel. Set aside the soup.
Tamagoyaki (Japanese egg omelet)
Whisk together the eggs, dashi, soy sauce and sugar.
Lightly, ever so lightly, brush the pan with vegetable oil. Coat the pan with a thin film of the egg mixture. The heat should be medium-low. Gently punch any bubbles with chopsticks or a light spatula. It helps to keep nudging the sides in too. Turn off the heat when the egg film is firm. Roll up with a spatula or chopsticks.
Grease the empty side of the pan. Pour in a few more tablespoons of the egg mixture over a medium-low flame. Tilt the pan so the runny egg slips under the already formed roll.
Repeat the process until you have a hefty tamagoyaki Japanese egg omelet. (The kind you see at sushi restaurants.)
Salad
Arrange the salad condiments on dishes or in bowls.
Ginger Sesame Dressing
Whisk together the above ingredients. Sprinkle on salad.
