tamago

How to Make Usuyaki Tamago

November 19, 2006 Other Recipes

Tamago is the Japanese name for a sweet egg omelet. This omelet can be used in maki and on nigiri sushi. The only problem is that the tamago is so good that once you try some, there might not be any left to make sushi with! This isn’t exactly a traditional recipe. Instead, this is how my mom used to always make it, so it might be a little different than what you find in sushi restaurants.

Makes 1 omelet.

Usuyaki Tamago

Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp shoyu
Cooking Directions

Crack the eggs into a bowl. Using a whisk or a fork, whisk the eggs until smooth.


Whisking the eggs

Stir in the sugar and shoyu, stirring until thoroughly mixed in.


Pouring sugar into the egg


Pouring shoyu into the egg

Heat a frying pan at medium heat.

Melt about 1/2 tbsp butter in the pan, spreading it so the bottom of the pan is completely covered.

Pour the egg mix into the pan.


Pouring the egg mix into the pan

When the egg looks opaque and you can get a spatula under it without tearing the omelet, flip the omelet.


Cooking the tomago

When the omelet is coked through (you can lift the omelet with the spatula to check underneath), remove the omelet from the pan.


Tamago removed from the pan

Slice into thin strips. The width of these strips depends on what you are using the tamago for – for tamago nigiri, cut them into 1.5″ x 2.5″ strips, to use in maki cut into 1 cm strips.


Cutting the tomago into strips


Done and ready to use on nigiri!

97 thoughts on “How to Make Usuyaki Tamago”

  1. Russell -

    Do you mean tamago? That’s the japanese word for ‘egg’, and typically what you call the nigiri sushi with egg on it, I think…

  3. Allison -

    Russell – Oops sorry, I was in a rush and accidentally spelled it wrong.
    hien – There are many different versions of tamago recipes. This recipe is one of the many that I have found, using ingredients that most people are able to find easily. I don’t have the tools to cook it exactly how it is supposed to be made (and most people who read this probably don’t either), so this is the easiest way for the average person to make tamago.

  4. Kirsty -

    I’m eating the Tamago right now. Very quick and easy and yummy!
    I had bought some Mirin the other day so I added about a teaspoon of that.
    Can’t wait to make it for maki sushi. Thankyou for the recipe.

  7. June -

    hmmm…. interesting. quite simple, and im gonna try it! Ive never made any japanese dishes before, and ill be trying to make some sushi tomorrow using a bamboo mat, rice, rice vinegar, jap mayo, salmon, crab sticks, seaweed. thanz for the recipe quite easy and fun! mmmmmm…. tamago and sushi!~

  9. Sophie -

    I really love this recipe for tamago.
    If I’m ever stuck for something for my school lunch, this is always a good Plan B

  11. katie -

    hi, i was just looking for an easy tamago recipe and i found your blog. i can’t wait to try your recipe. thanks for making it so easy, with the photos….

    I just love Japanese food and I think your blog will help me in my attempts to cook! ^_^

  12. Susan -

    I tend to have a sushi party at least 1-2 times a year, having our gaming friends over to make their own rolls…we have a couple of local asian food stores, and one at least has frozen tamago bricks (that’s the only way I can explain it), though I’ve never tried it, and I always prefer to make everything myself. As of yet, I’ve never attempted the tamago omelette before, but I’ve been really hungry for it lately. I just happened to run across your blog via my Google search and found your oh-so-awesome recipe! I’ll probably try it tomorrow to curb my craving – really looking forward to it, considering the “square pan, pour a little, move that to one end, pour some more, fold, repeat” always daunted me a bit…thanks a million for posting this recipe!

  13. Sophie -

    A bit of a western thing, I know, but have you ever tried it on its own with a small dollop of whipped cream?

    I tried it yesterday and it was delicious. 🙂

  14. Allison -

    Katie – I’m glad SushiDay can be of help! 🙂

    Susan – That sounds like fun! If I can ever find a square pan, I am going to try to find a way to make the traditional way of making tamago a little easier for everyone to try (it intimidates me too!), but for now this one works well for me!

    Sophie – Interesting… I have never tried that! Sounds good though… 😀

  15. alexie -

    well i should’t say the method is wrong, but its quite gud and easy for the beginer. As for the real tamago, only professional chef can do it and thats how they judge whether the resttaurant is serving gud japenese fud. well i hav heard that ppl walk out of the restaurant if they find the tamago is bad.

  17. Renren -

    I tried your recipe. It turned out pretty good on my first try, but I think mine came out a little too sweet. Hahaha! ^_^

  19. Chef Yitaro -

    thats not how u make tamago…. mirin is very important in making one…. and your procedure is very far from making tamago….. you are basicaly making a scrambled egg with sugar…. im a sous chef in a 5star hotel here in Japan, and this recipe insults me… bcoz our food is very delicate, u cant just go around changing ingridients and still call it a japanese dish. uki_Yitaro@hiltonjapan.com

  20. Scooterdeb -

    I’ve made tamago the “move and roll to one side” method (in a round pan, no less) and that’s lovely, but I wanted to THANK YOU for letting me see that YES, you can make it this way (and cut it into strips). The flavor is still just as delicious without all the extra work.

    As for “Chef Yitaro” – relax. And don’t substitute “u” for “you”. It makes you lose credibility.

  21. Allison -

    Yitaro – I realize that… as I said before, I posted this recipe in order to make it more accessible for non-chefs. Many people love the taste of tamago, but don’t want to go to the trouble of trying to make it the correct (but complicated) way or trying to go find not so common ingredients.

    Scooterdeb – Thanks. 🙂 I’m glad some people understand that not everyone wants to go through the trouble of doing things the *right* way at home.

  22. Emile -

    should one wait for the Tamago to be cold before eating it with the rice or not? I reckon I should …

    PS. I just ‘invented’ an awesome sushi myself; email me in case you are interested in trying it (and maybe posting the recipe when you are blown away by it!). Yitaro maybe you can contribute by sharing your ‘hilton-tamago’ recipe

  23. Allison -

    Nope! You can eat it warm. 🙂 I would definitely love to hear about your awesome sushi invention! I’ll email you too, just in case you don’t check back here. 😛

  24. Julie -

    Thank you so much for posting this, it tastes really good! I had sweet egg for the first time just a week or two ago at a restaurant and I’ve been wanting to make it ever since but all the recipes I found call for hard to find ingredients. Oh, and whenever I try to flip the omelet, it gets all wrinkly. Am I not letting it cook long enough or am I just bad at using spatulas?

    Yitaro- and I may only be 16, but even I know that what you said was very rude! Just because you have an important job doesn’t give you license to stop being courteous to others! Plus your typing skills make you sound like a second grader.

  25. Allison -

    🙂 I’m glad you like it! Yeah, most of the real recipes are a bit more involved, which is why I posted this one. If the omelet is sticking a little, then you might need to cook it a tiny bit longer. Otherwise it could just be the way you flip it… but don’t worry, I’m really bad at flipping them too! Mine always only flip halfway, and then stick together. 😛

  26. Nancy* -

    yaay!.. thanks s0o beary much for posting this! I’ve been craving for tamag0 for s0me time n0w… T___T” Thanks t0 y0u im gonna try making one!..
    I’m g0nna do my best f0r tamag0!!! n__n

  28. Yue -

    Thanks for the variation! I am going to try this recipe but still roll it the traditional way! Domo Arigato!

  30. Birder -

    Yitaro, your spelling and grammar are an insult to the English language. For someone whose cooking techniques are supposedly so refined, you sure spend a lot of time on recipe blogs being a pompous jackass.

    Allison, thanks for posting an easy and accessible recipe. Even I can make this one!

  31. Allison -

    Yue – You are very welcome! Do itashi mashite! 🙂

    Nolwenn – It sure is delicious!

    Birder – You certainly are welcome! I try to make it accessible! 🙂

  32. Marie -

    Hi hi! I just wanted to say I tried your recipe and loved it. The egg tastes so good and sweet!

  34. MadHatterMCR -

    Thank you for posting this recipe. I’m not usually able to spend a lot of time cooking. This was quick, easy, and great tasting. Thank you again.

  35. kate -

    Ooh! I’m gonna have to try this, I have the biggest craving for tamago ever right now! Thanks for the easy recipe-even I can’t screw it up ha ha

  36. Allison -

    Mad Hatter and kate, you are very welcome. I know the “real” way of making tamago is much more time consuming, so I hoped this would help those of us with less time who still craved tamago. 🙂

  37. Goosebucket -

    I found this recipe googling tamago and made it last night. It came out perfectly and I was overjoyed. I had found the more complicated recipes online as well, but I don’t have the skills or the right cooking utensils, so I was deterred from making it myself until I read your recipe. Your recipe was extremely easy to make and tasted very good.

    I slice it lengthwise and put it in my sushi roll along with avocado and maple-glazed tofu. It was awesome!

    Thank you for this recipe, I’m so happy I found an easy, undaunting way to make it myself!

  38. Allison -

    I’m so glad you liked it! This was exactly my reason for posting this recipe – I wanted to provide an easy, non-scary way to make tamago. The roll you made sounds delicious!

  39. Food Nazi -

    i’m sure this taste good, but this is not dashimaki tamago.

    no offense, but i agree with Yitaro. the texture and ingredients are wrong.

    what’s the difference between meatloaf and hamburger patties? there are lots of similarities, but they’re not the same.

  40. Allison -

    *sigh* Like I’ve said many times in both the actual post and in the comments, I know. This is not meant to be real, traditional tamago. Instead, this is meant to be a very easy, non-scary way to make tamago for people who want to make it at home and might not have access to the more traditional, exotic ingredients.

  41. Tony -

    You will probably have to end up explaining that another 100 times. I get it, because I have taken the time to make real tamago and yes, it is an art–but that doesn’t make this easy hybrid bastardization any less delicious. Call it neo-pseudo-tamago and all will be well. And thanks for the recipe. Now to explain to Cosby the difference between chocolate pudding and chocolate mousse. Feh!

  42. Allison -

    I may as well write a script to automatically respond to comments on this post explaining that I know it’s not real tamago. 😉

    Yes, I realize that *real* tamago is an art, and now that I have a pan appropriate for it I intend to make some… soon… I promise! And then I’ll post it here, and all the people freaking out about my good-for-those-at-home-without-lots-of-time-or-access-to-traditional-ingredients fake tamago recipe will be happy. I hope.

    And you’re welcome! 🙂

  43. Aussie Jude -

    Hi Folks
    Fake fur, fake tamago – who cares – so long as it looks good and tastes good. And where there is no pain there is always some gain 🙂
    Thanks Allison

  45. Michele -

    I know its not “real” tamago, but I enjoyed it! I made mine even less “real” as I used egg whites, sugar substitute and a dash of chinese five spice. However, I wanted to thank you for such a user-friendly introductory recipe!

    Michele’s last blog post… Egg-periment

  52. Michiko -

    Hi , I’m a japanese expat . and i loved your recipe. i was rushing out a bento box the other day and i decided to make this instead of the other since i was running out of time, and my kid said it tasted delicious.

  53. Ravyn_2006 -

    Thanks for the wonderful recipe. The other ones I had found called for dashi stock which is not carried by the local asian market. This was an easy alternative to having to wait while i have dashi granules shipped to me. Even my picky 7 yr old ate this!!! I don’t care what the others say about this not being a proper recipe, it was excellent!!

    Thanks for making sushi a less daunting task overall with this site as well. You inspired me to try making my own after trying a few pieces at a local asian buffet that also had a sushi buffet.

  54. Ravyn_2006 -

    Ok so all the talk of real Tamago vs. this recipe made me curious. I found the harder to find ingrediants that were in my recipes that I had found prior to this one. My sister-in-law had dashi granuals and I found mirin at the local asian market,(got their last bottle til thursday!!). I made rolled tamago in a round pan and it did not taste near as good as the recipe presented. Given the dashi was fish broth, it was what she had. This was more savory than sweet and not as light. My vote goes to the recipe presented here!!!

  55. Ashley -

    Didn’t really taste like tamago, but it was still delicious. I actually like this better (there’s some flavor to the authentic stuff that I haven’t quite adjusted to yet…). Thank you very much for the recipe, I didn’t have anything to eat this morning until I found your recipe. ^^;

  60. Jen -

    This tamago recipe is perfect! The proportions (egg to shoyu to sugar) worked a lot better than other tamago recipes I’ve tried. Yummy!

  63. ima -

    thank you for this recipe, i found another recipe but i don’t have the materials for it. good thing i found this 😀 i’m trying to do a tamago right now.

  64. Emma -

    Good recipe, very simple and tasty, tastes like the real thing but very easy! All the other recipes are (as you said) a bit to complicated for such a simple thing. Especially for westerners that don’t have a japanese dedicated kitchen.

  65. Oysterman -

    This works! Kids needed a “quick fix” this morning and your recipe got them moving. Thanks!

    BTW, my response for the “this-isn’t-right” post is, like you do, reiterate the caveats and then suggest a posting of a link to their method so that we can all learn. 😉

  66. Amy I. -

    Hi Allison! I used this recipe as part of this month’s Daring Cooks sushi challenge. Tamago is one of our very favorites (we always save it for “dessert”/eat it last when we eat sushi out), and I didn’t think I’d be able to master the traditional technique at home. Thanks so much for the shortcut version, I was really glad to be able to include it in our at-home sushi meal. Cheers!

  67. ila -

    Just found the site today while googling Tamago recipe. Recently I’ve added tamago to my regular order at the few sushi bars in my area and I love it, so much I had to try to make it myself. This recipe turned out great for me. I ended up doubling the recipe and using a squarish electric skillet. Using it, I was able to roll up the tamago like you would traditionally see, it just wasn’t as uniform.

    Still great recipe, and I’ve looked around on the rest of this site, great stuff, I’ll be using this as a reference as I proceed with more of my own sushi related endeavors.

  73. Beverley M -

    I just made this as a trial run for a snack tonight (making sushi in a couple of days for supper) and it worked very well! I used to have mirin from the last time I made sushi, but that was YEARS ago and I just finally threw it out recently. And now here I go, trying it again 😉 So I didn’t want to buy mirin and was wondering if I could substitute sugar, and sure enough.

    Sure, maybe it’s not authentic, but good enough for me! I wasn’t able to flip it (too slippery!) but what ended up happening naturally was it folded one third over… so I folded the other third over and presto, it came out sort of like it was supposed to in the first place 😉 I only did a half recipe and had a whoopsie with the soy sauce and so had probably twice as much as I should have for the amount of egg… still yummy.

  74. Gau -

    This recipe is a godsend. I’m 12 weeks pregnant and haven’t been able to eat meat for almost five weeks, and eggs for longer, which is bad since eggs have high amounts of choline which is vital for fetal brain development. I knew today I wouldn’t be able to eat western style eggs, but thought if I could get some sweet Japanese style eggs I’d be okay. And it worked! Your recipe is easy, delicious, and a reasonable facsimile of “real” tamago, enough so that I’m sitting here eating a plate as I type, and I think it’s going to stay down. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  81. Allison -

    Ms. Collector – It is! Great for breakfast, I recommend it.

    Thomas – Thank you! Hope you’ve enjoyed those you’ve tried. 🙂

    Michiko – Thank you for that! So many people complain that I posted this because it’s not real tamago, but it’s very nice to know that someone from Japan has tried and loved the recipe. 🙂

    Ravyn – Thank you, that’s my goal here – to make Japanese recipes more accessible to those who have never tried it before. I’m glad you liked my recipe! 🙂

    Ashley – Thanks… true, it’s not quite like real tamago, but I’m glad to hear you liked it. 🙂

    JubJub – Yes. 🙂

    Alcoholic – Thanks!

    Atave – Thanks! I’m glad you like it!

    Jen – Thank you, that’s good to hear. 🙂

    ima – Thanks! I love this recipe for the same reason – I don’t always have dashi or kombu on hand, but I can still always make this. 🙂

    Emma – Thank you! Exactly. Most Westerners won’t have the proper pan for tamago, access to the more exotic ingredients, or the patience to make true tamago.

    Oysterman – Thanks! Hehe I like your idea, I’ll have to use that for future naysayers. 😀

    Amy – That’s great! I’m glad to hear you liked it and enjoyed it. Your sushi turned out looking beautiful! 🙂

    Ila – Fantastic! I’m happy to hear it turned out well for you.

    Crock – Wonderful, I hope your family enjoyed it!

    Mr. Mixer – Great! So, how was it? 🙂

    Aryante – Yes, it can. 🙂

    Jenn – That’s very cool.

    Paul – Thanks!

    Beverley – I know what you mean about the mirin – if you’re not making sushi (or other dishes that use it) constantly, it’s really hard to use up the whole bottle in a timely manner. I’m very happy to hear that you liked the tamago, though! 😀

    Gau – That’s wonderful! I’m so happy that the different style of eggs worked for you. Best of luck with your pregnancy! 🙂

    Tim – Great, how did you like it?

    Ms. Recipes – Thanks!

    Mr. Tutorials – Thank you! Hope you like it!

    Chris – Thanks! Glad you liked it! 🙂

    wow – Well, yes. That’s been addressed numerous times in the comments and the post. Do you have a better recipe you’d like to recommend?

  88. Cannucklehead -

    I absolutely love tamago nigiri but even without the seaweed belt 🙂 right now I’ve had my bottom teeth removed from dental complications and tamago nigiri is about the right texture for me to be able to gum to eat.
    Thank you for providing a simple recipe for us uncomplicated people. If you don’t like the recipe here, no one is making you make it! To those prudes who can’t get off their ivory chopsticks, I say poo on you. An easy recipe was asked for and was given. I don’t see you posting your difficult recipe so others can learn the other way!
    Thank you for hosting this page

  89. Sharlene -

    Just my $.02… while you didn’t make “real tamago”, you inadvertently made the style of omelet that goes into gimbap, a Korean sort of maki. Check it out Wikipedia.

    Thought you might enjoy that bit of trivia both as a compliment and possibly as another dish to try.

    PS. Just cause you and a few commentors mentioned you like mirin, but hardly use it so you’re reluctant to buy it, if you water down white or apple cider vinegar, you can approximate the acidity.

  92. Yuki -

    it’s not tamago recipe…or it’s a very weird tamago recipe.
    Traditional tamago is made of layers and it’s rectangle.
    You can do it without special frying pan.
    I did try your recipe…I’m pro sushi chef. Didn’t like it. Sorry.

  93. Brynn -

    This was really good! I think I’m part of your intended audience. I live in a small city with very little access to Asian ingredients. I made this recipe with a couple of small alterations. I used one tsp. of sugar and instead of using shoyu, I used tamari. It turned out great! My boyfriend is already asking for seconds!

Archives

Copyright ©2006- Sushiday. All Rights Reserved