Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).

* * *

The very first article of Gohan Lab focused on ways to cook boiled eggs as you desired.

Fast forward three years and the final article will introduce everyone’s favorite, “dashimaki-tamago,” or dashi-flavored Japanese rolled omelet.

The ingredients are simple, it tastes extraordinary when freshly cooked, and nice and moist even when cold. While egg dishes involve many key points of cookery science, you need time to learn the ropes before you can approach the ideal.

Even if you overcook the omelet or it loses its shape at first, enjoy the challenge and the respective flavor.

To strike a balance between the softness unique to the dashi-flavored rolled omelet and the easiness to roll, Akiko Watanabe, who supervised the cooking aspect of the recipe, came up with a ratio of three eggs to 50 ml dashi stock. If you get the hang of it and increase the stock to 100 ml, you will get a rolled omelet that is extra fluffy.

You may make stock using the usual store-bought dashi powder in packets or granulated types. We recommend a flavor that is light on saltiness and sweetness but try cooking it once and make adjustments.

The keys to cooking the rolled omelet are a generous amount of oil, a heat level that is not low and good posture that makes it easy to move the hand that is holding the square specialized pan. Practice before theory.

Once you acquire the skill, you will be able to make rolled omelets you can be proud of for life.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

(Supervised by Akiko Watanabe in the cooking aspect and Midori Kasai in the cookery science aspect)

* Ingredients (Serves two)

3 eggs, 1/4 cup dashi stock, 1/2 tsp light-colored soy sauce, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/6 tsp sugar, some oil

About 180 kcal and 1.0 grams salt per portion

1. Add dashi stock, light-colored soy sauce, salt and sugar in a cup or other container and mix to dissolve. 

2. Break eggs in bowl, remove chalaza. Mix with cooking chopsticks (PHOTO A) and add liquid prepared in 1.

3. Pour some oil in a small dish. Fold kitchen paper many times into a small size and let it absorb oil. A rolled omelet pan 13 centimeters by 18 cm in size was used. Warm oil on medium heat. Raise temperature until it sizzles when drops of egg liquid fall on pan. Pour in 1/4 of egg liquid (about 70 percent of a scoop of a ladle). When it is half cooked, tilt the pan by lowering the side toward you and gather egg toward you using cooking chopsticks (PHOTO B). Form a lump and push away to the other end.

4. Wipe pan again with folded paper with oil, check the temperature and pour 1/3 of remaining egg liquid. Lift cooked egg with chopsticks and let egg liquid run under it. When it is half cooked, remove pan from heat and tilt it so the far end is lower. Hold cooked egg gently between chopsticks and roll toward you while flipping your wrist that is holding the handle upward (PHOTO C).

5. Repeat the process twice to finish. If you wish to eat the omelet right away, serve on a plate. If you want to adjust the shape of the rolled omelet, roll in a “makisu” (bamboo rolling mat) and leave until somewhat cooler. Cut to the appropriate width.

***

Akiko Watanabe is a cooking expert specializing in Japanese cuisine.

Midori Kasai is a professor emerita at Ochanomizu University and former chairwoman of the Japan Society of Cookery Science.

ARRANGED VERSION

Rolled omelet flavored with green laver and dashi stock

This is a nice option to pack in boxed lunches. Add 1 tsp of green laver powder (“aonoriko”) to the same egg liquid. Cook half the amount twice to make two rolled omelets. Use bamboo rolling mat to form cylindrical shape.

COOKERY SCIENCE

The firmness of the heated egg depends on the seasonings and the amount of liquid added. If they are large in amount, the protein is less likely to set. Yet the saltiness of dashi stock or soy sauce and the calcium in the milk prompt the setting process. Sugar, however, curbs the process, causing the egg dish to turn out soft. Milk gives pudding a hardness that allows it to be removed from a mold, while sugar gives it a smooth texture.

Q&A: The temperature holds the key when making roast beef

A reader from Saitama city pointed out that “a drip emerges even after letting the cooked roast beef stand for a while.” Chef Kuniaki Arima says, “A certain amount of drip is expected to emerge since the cells of meat will break through thawing and some fresh meat may contain a larger amount of water.”

After browning the surface of the meat, the goal is to raise the core temperature to 75 degrees. “Under a high temperature, the meat will shrink suddenly and push out water. Keep the oven temperature between 130 and 150 degrees and cover the meat with cabbage or aluminum foil to shield it from direct exposure to hot air.”

We would like to thank our readers for sending in emails and letters while the Gohan Lab articles were being published. Our continued goal is to run articles that will be useful in your kitchen.

* * *

This is the final article translated from The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column.