Tamagoyaki is a Sandwich!! How Wonderful and Unusual
I was very surprised the first time I saw this tamagoyaki sando because I always ate tamagoyaki only with rice or as an appetizer. I never thought tamagoyaki goes with bread. Tamagoyaki is one of the most common Japanese side dishes which you may see at a sushi restaurant. We also eat them for breakfast with rice and miso soup. Tamagoyaki is a popular item in the bento box. So I was a little hesitant to try tamagoyaki sando for the first time because I couldn’t imagine how good a taste it would be. However, it was really mind-blowing how tasty the fluffy tamagoyaki with fluffy milk bread was together.
Tamagoyaki Sando is a Popular Kissaten Item in Kyoto
The reason why I didn’t know about the tamagoyaki sando until recently was that this sandwich started around the Kyoto area. It has been a really popular item in the old style kissaten (Western-influenced tea house) and still is. You can find a lot of old kissaten stores that are almost 100 years old. They still serve their traditional tamagoyaki sandwich. Now, I see more places serve this sandwich even in the Tokyo area.
Technique of Making Tamagoyaki Sando
Similar to omelets, making tamagoyaki requires some learned technique. I practiced a lot to make tamagoyaki since I was 9 years old. So don’t be disappointed if this is your first time trying. However, my recipe today is not the traditional regular rolling way to make tamagoyaki. My style today will involve flipping the egg mixture only one time, so it will be much easier for you to follow the steps.
Instant Dashi Powder
Many Japanese dishes contain dashi broth. miso soup, udon soup, oden, etc. Making proper dashi broth requires a lot of time. So there are many instant dashi powders available as a shortcut to making dashi broth dishes. I used this kissaten style dashi powder which is normally used to make udon in the Kyoto area.
Nonstick Pan
Although professional sushi chefs use copper pans for making their tamagoyaki it will be easier and less expensive too, use nonstick pans for making your tamagoyaki recipe. Because we make tamagoyaki very often in Japan, most households have tamagoyaki pans in the house. However, a small circle non-stick pan also works for making tamagoyaki if that is what you have available in the house.
Ingredients
- 2 slices of shokupan ( milk bread)
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of milk
- ½ teaspoon of instant dashi powder
- 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- mayonnaise
- Butter (room temperature)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir milk, dashi powder, soy sauce, and sugar together.
- Combine eggs and milk mixture with chopsticks or a fork, and mix all together, avoid too many bubbles forming.
- Pour oil into a tamagoyaki pan(or small pan), and wipe excess oil with kitchen paper.
- Heat the pan in medium heat, once the pan is heating up enough, pour in all the egg mixture.
- Then immediately start mixing the part that is cooking starting from the edge of the plan. Keep repeating until 70% of eggs are cooked.
- Then remove from the heat, cover the pan with foil or lid for 1 minute.
- Open the cover and flip the eggs to half their size into one big egg omelet. Then cover them again with foil or lid for 3 minutes.
- Transfer the egg omelet to a paper towel, and wrap the omelet and try to shape it more evenly.
- Spread butter on a slice of bread, and mayonnaise. Place the omelet and cover it with another slice of bread.
- Wrap the sandwich with plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice the sandwich into your preferred shape. And portions.
