Tamagoyaki 日本の卵焼き

Egg is an important ingredient in Japanese cuisine. In most restaurants you will find a version of an omelet dish, usually served with meat or fish.

Tamagozushi, sushi rice with an omelet topping, or tamago donburi, bowls of rice topped with a softly-cooked omelet, are both very common dishes. But you will soon notice that the Japanese omelet differs - both in texture and taste - from omelets cooked in the West.

Preparation

Cooked in a square pan with high edges (called makiyakinabe), then rolled very tightly, Japanese omelet is often served sliced into small, thick and dense slabs. 

As for taste, mirin, a sweet rice wine, is added, along with sugar, which gives it its particular sweet-savory taste.

Called atsuyaki tamago, or dashi-maki tamago, Japanese omelet is widely used in the preparation of bento (packed lunches) and Japanese breakfast.

The preparation of tamagoyaki is a real art.

Variations

• Omurice

An omurice is, as its name suggests, an omelet stuffed with rice: this American inspired dish is very popular in Japan. Often covered in ketchup, it's loved by Japanese children.

The omurice is a fine example of yoshoku, that is to say, a Western dish redesigned by Japanese chefs for the Japanese palate, a trend started during the Meiji Restoration in the early twentieth century. 

• Usuyaki tamago

Usuyaki tamago is an omelet cooked like a pancake, and is particularly used to make chakinzushi, a kind of Japanese pouch. Chakinzushi are filled with gomokuzushi, rice seasoned with vegetables.

• Kinshi tamago

Kinshi tamago is a cross between a flat omelet and a salad. Made up of strips of usukiyaki tamago, it often garnishes cold dishes such as soba, or even rice.