Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese Omelette Rolls) and Japanese Cooking with Manga

Japanese Cooking with Manga: Easy Recipes Your Friends Will Love, written by The Gourmand Gohan Team (Alexis Aldeguer, Maiko-san, Ilaria Mauro), features 59 favorite Japanese recipes perfect for the home cook. Highlights include Broccoli Miso Soup, Soy Braised Vegetables (Kinpira Gobo), Japanese Ginger Pork (Buta no Shogayaki), and Crispy Fried Prawns (Ebifurai). I will also be sharing their recipe for Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese Omelette Rolls) following the review.

Disclosure:  I received this book from Tuttle Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

The Gourmand Gohan Team

Alexis Aldeguer was born in Elx (Valencia, Spain) and is currently based in Barcelona’s la Vila de Gràcia. With a passion for comic books, he provided the illustrations for Japanese Cooking with Manga.

Maiko-san moved to Barcelona, started working in a Japanese restaurant, and became friends with Alexis and Ilaria. She is a “connoisseur of each and every Asian restaurant in Barcelona and gives away both wisdom and love by cooking for her friends.”

Ilaria Mauro moved to Spain from Brianza in Lombardy. She is a photographer, designer, and “collects patatas bravas and cozy spots where she likes to go eat and chill out.”

Japanese Cooking with Manga

Japanese Cooking with Manga began as a hand-drawn and hand-bound version called “Gourmand Gohan.” It was made by the authors for their friends in Barcelona.

It evolved into this paperback, 128 page version filled with delicious recipes and fun manga-like illustrations. Along with the recipes, you will also find guides for essential Japanese ingredients, how to use chopsticks, buy and cut fish for sushi, and an abundance of cultural insights.

Chapters are divided according to course: Starters & Snacks, Soups & Salads, Sushi, Vegetables & Tofu, Meat & Chicken, Fish & Seafood, Noodles & Rice, and Desserts & Drinks. The contents include a list of the recipes with page numbers for easy reference.

While there aren’t any photos, the book is filled with step-by-step illustrations. Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric.

Titles are written in English and occasionally romanized Japanese. Each recipe include a headnote with background information, serving size, cooking time, and preparation tips.  

Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese Omelette Rolls)

Dashimaki Tamago (だし巻き卵) is a Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette) seasoned with dashi, a kombu (kelp) katsuobushi (bonito flake) stock, along with mirin and soy sauce.

A thin layer of the seasoned egg is heated in a rectangular skillet until barely set. It is then rolled across the pan before adding another layer. This process continues, rolling across and adding more egg, to create a multilayered omelette with a fantastic silky texture.

The omelette is perfect on its own with shiso leaves, grated daikon, and rice. For another fun option, you can use it in place of egg salad in a sandwich to make Tamagoyaki Sando.

Compared to other types of Tamagoyaki, Dashimaki Tamago is best served immediately after cooking due to the higher moisture content.

A Few Dashimaki Tamago Tips

I made the Dashimaki Tamago in a specialty Tamagoyaki Pan. It is nonstick to easily roll the layers and the shape creates a nice, even omelet with minimal effort.

For detailed photos on rolling the eggs in the pan, check out my Korean Gyeran Mari.

If you do not have this type of pan, use a nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron 8 inch (20 centimeter) skillet.

Make sure the pan is thoroughly heated before adding the egg mixture. Grease the pan with a very thin layer of oil using a pastry brush or paper towel as needed between layers.

If you are new to making Dashimaki Tamago or Tamagoyaki, keep an eye on the heat as you cook the omelette. Start to roll the egg using a spatula or two chopsticks (not metal) before the top of the layer is completely set. It should no longer be runny, but still wet. If the egg is too dry or the layer is too thick, then the egg may tear during the rolling process and become tough.

I usually skip this step to save time and dishes, but you can pour the beaten eggs through a fine mesh strainer to help make a more even color and texture.

Notable Ingredients

This recipe uses dashi powder mixed with warm water. It is available in Japanese markets and more recently in some larger American grocery stores. You can also use freshly made dashi stock if you happen to have any leftover.

Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking rice wine. I use hon-mirin (true mirin) in recipes calling for mirin and have been able to find it in markets with Japanese ingredients and some larger American grocery stores.

Other Dishes

I also made Miso Marinated Mozzarella, Tori Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken Nuggets), Braised Fish with Ginger & Miso, and Matcha Frappuccino.

The Miso Marinated Mozzarella is an easy recipe that just takes a little planning ahead. Fresh balls of mozzarella are coated in a mixture of miso, mirin, and soy sauce, then marinated for two days in the refrigerator.

Tori no Karaage is one of my favorite ways to fry chicken. This recipe made the perfect snack. Pieces of chicken are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sake, garlic, ginger, and onion, then coated in flour and fried until golden.

The Braised Fish with Ginger and Miso is a wonderful way to prepare fish. The authors recommend using mackerel. That was unavailable, so I actually made the recipe with salmon. The results were absolutely delicious. The fish is simmered in a mixture of sake, brown sugar, mirin, miso, and ginger until just cooked through.

This Matcha Latte comes together with just a handful of ingredients. Sifted matcha powder is mixed with hot water and combined with frothed milk. For a fun touch, top the drink with mini marshmallows.

Japanese Cooking with Manga is a great pick for those interested in the basics of Japanese cuisine. It is especially perfect for beginners with many of the recipes taking 30 minutes or less.

Having access to a grocery store with Japanese/East Asian items will be helpful for locating ingredients such as sake, nori, panko, tofu, miso, mirin, Japanese rice, black sesame seeds, matcha, kuki-cha, rice paper wrappers, umeboshi vinegar, wakame, kombu, fish roe, wasabi paste, and daikon.

Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese Omelette Rolls) Recipe

Excerpt from Japanese Cooking with Manga

Print Pin

Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese Omelette Rolls)

A recipe for Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese Omelette Rolls). Thin layers of the seasoned egg are heated in a skillet until barely set and rolled up.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword dashi, Dashimaki Tamago, egg, Japan, Japanese, omelet, Omelette

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 large omelette

Ingredients

• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) Dashi stock powder
• 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) warm water
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) mirin or cooking sherry
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon (8 grams) cornstarch or potato starch
• Pinch salt
• Vegetable oil for the pan

Instructions

• Beat the eggs with a whisk or fork in a large bowl.
• Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to obtain a softer texture.
• Mix the dashi powder and water together in a bowl or glass to form dashi stock. Then add it to the eggs along with the mirin or sherry, soy sauce and cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Blend well.
• Heat a tamagoyaki pan or 8 inch (20 centimeter) skillet with some oil over medium-high heat until smoking hot.
• Scoop about one-sixth of the mixture into the skillet and swirl it around to cover the skillet with a thin layer of egg. 
• Cook for about 2 minute or until barely set. Then roll the omelette up using two spatulas.
• Push the cooked omelette to one side of the skillet, add a little more oil and pour another scoop of the egg mixture into the skillet to form a thin layer. Once it sets, roll the new layer around the previous one to form a bigger roll.
• Repeat for more times or until the egg mixture is all used up, each time rolling the new layer around the old ones. You’ll get an XXL omelette! And voilá! You can serve it with rice and soy sauce, or a salad.
• Alternatively, slice the omelette and serve the slices as an appetizer.