Dashimaki tamago in three minutes sounds awesome, but if it tastes bad, it won’t be worth even 100 yen.
Despite being a delicious part of Japanese cuisine, dashimaki tamago is a dish that you might not have many opportunities to eat. A type of rolled omelet, dashimaki tamago isn’t something you’ll find all that often on restaurant menus, as it’s more commonly purchased at specialty shops in Japanese department stores or made in the home.
This creates a problem if you don’t have a Japanese department store nearby or aren’t particularly skilled in the kitchen. There might be a way to get around that second problem, though, as 100 yen shop Daiso has a dashimaki tamago maker that it says will let you make one of the rolled omelets in your microwave in just a few minutes.
In recent years, there’s been a bit of a price creep at Japan’s 100 yen stores, but Daiso’s Renji de Chin Dashimaki Tamago (“Microwavable Dashimaki Tamago”) kit is true to the store’s original concept, costing just 100 yen (US$0.65). The kit consists of two pieces, one made of clear plastic, and the other yellow.
You will also, of course, need an egg, and the first step in the process is to crack that egg into the clear plastic piece. Add a tablespoon of water and mix the contents to break up the yolk.
▼ We used chopsticks, but a small fork or whisk should work just as well.
After you’re done mixing, put the clear container in the microwave to cook for 40 seconds at 500 watts.
Now it’s time to add the seasoning. Take the container out of the microwave and add roughly 1/3 tablespoon of hondashi (bonito stock) powder.
“Hey now, what if I don’t have hondashi?” you might be asking? Not to worry. Since it’s just being used for its flavor, you can skip adding the hondashi and just follow the other steps in the process to make a Japanese-style rolled omelet with a simpler flavor. Alternatively, you could substitute a sprinkling of salt and pepper for the hondashi, or even some cheese. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, since at this point we’re still not sure if Daiso’s Microwavable Dashimaki Tamago kit is going to work well or not.
Anyway, after adding the hondashi (if you have any), the clear container goes back into the microwave for another stint of 40 seconds at 500 watts.
The egg should now be starting to solidify from the heat.
This is where the second piece in the kit, the yellow one, comes in. It’s actually a press, so slide it into the clear piece and press down gently on the egg.
Once you get close enough to the bottom, fold in the tabs on the sides to lock the press in place.
Let everything sit for one minute, and then your dashimaki tamago should be ready to eat!
…huh…
…that…doesn’t look all that appetizing, does it? We were sure that either we or Daiso had colossally failed, until we slid our omelet out to plate it…
…and were shocked to learn that the rolled omelet had actually turned out great!
A big part of the appeal of dashimaki tamago is how the outer layer resembles a firm scrambled egg, but the inside is closer to a soft-boiled one. Daiso’s Microwavable Dashimaki Tamago did a fantastic job getting both of those right, and the presentation would have been even better had we taken a moment to scrape the edge of our omelet clean or wipe the runoff off of the unoccupied part of our plate.
And as for the flavor? It was fantastic! This isn’t a last-resort, instant-food sort of quality, but a legitimate, authentic dashimaki tamago taste.
▼ Our reporter Go Hatori, who’s actually a talented cook who used to work in a restaurant, gives the results of Daiso’s dashimaki tamago maker both a literal and figurative thumbs-up.
It may not be quite at the level that an experienced dashimaki tamago chef could achieve, but if you’re new to the dish, or in a rush, this is a great way to enjoy it with a grand total of about three minutes of prep time and no need for any other cooking equipment except a microwave, making it an absolute bargain for the price Daiso charges for it.
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