How to Make Japanese Sous Vide Omelet
My love for tamagoyaki is well known, as is my antipathy for disposable techniques . The latter, combined with the very small kitchen, prevented me from buying the square pan needed to grill the little egg squares, which is sad because I love them so much.
When I read Chef Yuji Haraguchi’s tamagoyaki recipe without a pan, it got me thinking about other cooking methods, and naturally I thought about sous vide cooking.
As we all know, sous-view – a great way to cook eggs and custards based on eggs and omelets sous-kind have existed for some time. It’s a fairly simple process: mix a few eggs, add other ingredients, pour into a bag and boil. When the eggs are set and have a delicious, creamy texture, remove the omelet from the bag.
Using this simple recipe from the Japan Center , I decided to see if this can be the same way to prepare a slightly sweet, delightfully elastic Japanese omelets. Spoiler alert: they can. The texture is slightly different as traditional cooking requires the chef to grill or fry each layer of eggs; Sous vide omelets are denser and creamier than classic tamagoyaki, with a texture that sits between omelet and tawanmushi . (I love them and disappointed it took so long to prepare them.) They can be served hot or cold, with or without rice, and for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To make them you will need:
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Heat a water bath to 170 ℉ and pour all ingredients into a bowl. Stir well, then strain the mixture through a fine sieve. (Although the straining process is optional, it will provide a very smooth and uniform omelet.)
Pour the mixture into a gallon freezer bag, being careful not to spray the mixture over the sides of the bag. Place the bag in the tub and secure the end of the bag to the sides. You may need to lean a plate or large spatula against the bag to keep it from floating.
Cook the omelet for 20 minutes, then remove it from the bag and place it on a cutting board (I’ve cut the edges of my bag to make it easier). Trim off any thin pieces of eggs, eat them, and slice the omelette into 2 bite sized portions. Serve immediately or refrigerate and eat for lunch the next day.