Made with egg and hanpen (fish cake), this sweet rolled omelette (Datemaki) is a delicious complement to your Osechi Ryori menu. Baked in the oven and rolled into a cylinder, this homemade Datemaki is simple enough to make from scratch for the festive season.
Datemaki (伊達巻) is a sweet rolled omelette and a popular Japanese New Year’s foods (osechi ryori, 御節料理), typically served in a lacquered jubako (special square boxes similar to lunch box). This dish is by far my favorite dish among the new year foods and I look forward to eating it every year.
Although pre-made datemaki is readily available during this time of the year in Japanese supermarkets, it is easy to make and I hope you try making this dish from scratch.
Watch How to Make Datemaki (Sweet Rolled Omelette) 伊達巻の作り方
Sweet rolled omelette made of egg and hanpen, typically served as part of osechi ryori during Japanese New Years celebration.
Ingredients for Datemaki
Datemaki is similar to tamagoyaki. The main ingredients are eggs and sweet seasonings like mirin, honey and soy sauce, but the big difference is that datemaki includes a square white fish cake called hanpen. (はんぺん).
Hanpen is made from grated Japanese yam (yamaimo) and surimi (Alaska Pollock), salt, and kombu dashi and it adds a unique texture to the egg omelette, like a soft fish cake. If you cannot find hanpen, you can substitute with white fish, scallop, or shrimp.
Although many datemaki recipes require dashi, I find it not necessary as hanpen is made of kombu dashi and it already adds a nice flavor to the omelette. Of course, you can always add dashi if you like.
After blending all the ingredients for the egg mixture, it is then baked until firm and nicely brown on the outside.
Rolling the Omelette in a Bamboo Mat
You have probably seen or used Makisu (巻き簀), a bamboo mat, to roll sushi or stabilize the shape of Tamagoyaki. To make Datemaki for the New Year, this special bamboo mat called Onisudare (鬼簾, 鬼すだれ) is used as the deep notches leave zigzag marks on surfaces for a decorative purpose.
If you don’t have Onisudare, you can use a regular bamboo mat to make Datemaki and it will still look pretty (see right picture below).
Spending New Year’s Day with Family
I really miss my family in Japan as the year is close to the end and families are getting together to celebrate the New Year together.
When I was small, my family used to spend the winter break in my grandparents’ home in Osaka so that we can celebrate New Year’s Day with all the family members. Grandma, aunties, my mom, and I – all the women in the family – would start preparing the new year foods a few days prior to the New Year Day. While we spend most of the days in the kitchen, men in the family do the cleaning inside and outside of the house and help run errands for any last-minute shopping.
New Year’s celebration was my favorite holiday growing up. It’s the biggest celebration in Japan and I enjoyed family time and the feasting as well as receiving otoshidama (monetary gift) from all the adult family members and playing new year games. It’s one Japanese holiday that I wish to be in Japan to celebrate.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Made with egg and hanpen (fish cake), this sweet rolled omelette Datemaki is a delicious complement to your Osechi Ryori menu. Baked in the oven and rolled into a cylinder, this homemade Datemaki is simple enough to make from scratch for the festive season.
- 110-130 g Hanpen (fish cake) (1 package; See Notes)
- 4 large eggs
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Gather all the ingredients. You will also need parchment paper and a bamboo sushi mat. In Japan, we use a special bamboo mat with thicker bamboo strips called Oni-Sudare, which gives
big ridges/indentations to datemaki. -
Preheat oven to 400 ºF (200 ºC). Line an 8" x 8" (20 x 20cm) baking dish with parchment paper.
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Cut the hanpen into ½ inch cubes and whisk eggs in a small bowl.
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In a blender or food processor, put the hanpen and Seasonings (2 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp honey, and ½ tsp soy sauce).
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Add the beaten egg and blend until smooth, about 1 to 1.5 minutes.
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Strain the egg mixture through a fine sieve to a clean bowl.
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Then pour the mixture back into the blender and strain one more time into the bowl. Finally, pour the mixture into the baking dish lined with parchment paper.
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Bake at 400 ºF (200 ºC) for 20 minutes or until slightly brown on top. If the top is not golden brown, switch to a broiler and broil for 2 minutes or until the surface is a golden brown color. The center of the omelette will rise a little bit as the top gets brown. It will shrink as it cools, so
don’t worry. -
Remove the baking dish from the oven and let omelette deflate and cool to handle, just for 1-2 minutes (DO NOT LEAVE IT more than that). We will need to roll the omelette while it’s hot.
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Transfer the omelette from the baking dish to a working surface by lifting the parchment paper. Then place the bamboo mat over the omelette, the flat bamboo side facing up.
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Carefully flip the omelette and remove the parchment paper.
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Carefully score the omelette ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep every ½ inch (a knife should be parallel to the bamboo sticks directions). This incision will help the omelette roll up without breaking/cracking.
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Roll the omelette into a tight cylinder.
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Secure the bamboo mat roll with rubber bands and wrap it with plastic wrap. Let cool completely for 2-3 hours.
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Carefully remove the Datemaki from the bamboo mat. Cut into 12 equal slices, about ¾ inch wide pieces. Serve at room temperature. You can store it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Hanpen (Fish Cake): You can find Hanpen in the refrigerated or frozen section of a Japanese grocery store. If you cannot find it, substitute with white fish (skinless/boneless), scallop or shrimp.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Dec 26, 2013. The pictures have been updated in December 2019.
When I first saw the photo, I was wondering how you got those pretty indentations around the datemaki. =) This really seems like a simple and still delicious recipe; I can see how it can easily be a New Year’s favorite!
Thanks for continuing to share osechi ryori with us — the dishes look so elegant, and I love the image you shared of everyone pitching in to help for New Year’s preparations. Also, I’m glad to hear that your family is having fun in NYC! There’s a Japanese wagashi store called Minamoto Kitchoan that I always like to visit every time I’m in the city. Hope that you and your family enjoy a wonderful New Year’s!
Hi Kimmi! Happy New Year! There’s Minamoto Kitchoan in SF too, but I haven’t had a chance to visit SF store yet. I should check it out! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. 🙂
Happy New Year in beautiful New York. In April, we are going on a cruise from Los Angeles to Osaka. Our daughter was in Osaka in 1995 during the big earth quake, but she loved the city. We are looking forward to our visit, even for one day.
Happy New Year Sandy! How exciting! I didn’t know there is a cruise that goes from LA to Osaka! It’s a nice season to visit Japan during that time. Have a great trip!
Oh Nami, these look beautiful! And easier to make than the tamagoyaki that gave me such trouble!
I wonder though, can you suggest a vegetarian substitute for the hanpen? Or shall I just leave it out altogether?
My best wishes for a wonderful family New Year’s Eve, and a very happy 2014!
Happy New Year Ina! So sorry for my late response. You have a good question! I actually never made or thought of vegetarian version and I’m not sure how we can substitute the fish cake (or shrimp/scallop/fish). It needs similar texture – do you think tofu would work? Sorry I can’t help much… Hope you have a wonderful 2014 too!
Good suggestion, thank you. Maybe a soft tofu. I think I’ll just add a little extra soy sauce to disguise the tofu taste a little, though!
And thank you too, Nami, for telling me how the Japanese put sugar in their omelets. That is truly delicious, who would have thought?! I’ll never make a salty egg dish again!
Yeah soft tofu. I love sweet egg since I was small. Tamago/egg sushi, shredded egg crepes over chirashi sushi, datemaki, tamagoyaki… love that sweet (not super sweet) flavor. 🙂
Me too!
Was it successful with Tofu? I am making the chicken meatballs this week and was thinking of making this with the excess tofu and wondered if anyone had already tried it. Thanks!
Thank you for the recipe, it looks really good, Nami! Shinnen Omedeto gozaimasu to you and family!
Akemashite Omedeto, Marguerite! I’m glad to hear you like the recipe. 🙂 Arigato!
Hi I Have a question-if we substitute happen with white flesh, do we blend the fish raw, or cooked with the egg? Thanks!
Happy New Year Mizuki! I apologize for my late response due to my travel. We use raw fish (or surimi). 🙂
nami, i have ben continually impressed with justonecookbook. It is such a treat to see how you grow and get better and better! I have been a Japanophile for 30 years, and I love the choices you make for the recips you cover. I was thinking about this particular recipe and how i would make it if i were doing lots and lots of rolls, instead of just one. (Can you tell I owned a catering company for 30 years?!) I think i would place a piece of plastic wrap over the bamboo mat, with the plastic wrap hanging over the left and right side about2-3 inches. I would put the cooked egg square on the plastic wrap with the browned side up, lay a sheet of nori the same size- over the egg, and roll it up tightly, removing the bamboo mat at the end and twisting the ends of the plastic wrap , one one direction and the other the other direction, to make the roll tight, and then chill, remove the wrap, and slice. And maybe present with a little tobiko in the middle (the nori and the tobiko making up for the scalloped edge that would have been imprinted if the roll had been done your way, in the bamboo mat. Thanks for the inspiration, Nami!
(That plastic wrap end- twisting technique is what i use when I make poached chicken or seafood ‘sausages’, for making the roll both tight and watertight. When sliced, the spirals come out very neat!))
Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my recipes. 🙂 30 years of catering experience is amazing! I am not very good at cooking for many people. I get very nervous when I have to feed many people. xD I need to learn some trick and tips from you!
As for datemaki, one thing I should mention is the shape. You see the wavy decoration around datemaki? It’s signature look. So if you want to keep that, you may need to leave the bamboo with the roll… but if you don’t mind, you should be okay with the plastic wrap method!
Thank you for your comment! 🙂
OMG! You make it look so easy. I cant wait to try it now. Thank you for the demo. That helped me!!
Hi Pamela! I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
When you say to keep the bamboo mat straight while cooling to maintain the round shape, do you mean to cool it standing up vertically? Thanks! Your recipes are making our New Year’s dinner even better!
Hi Karen! Yes “vertically” so one side of round shape won’t be flat. I’ll edit my recipe later. I can’t believe I forgot to take the picture of the process. Thank you for asking. Hope you enjoy this recipe! Happy New Year to you and your family!
I make tamagoyaki but haven’t tried making this variation. We just went to Mitsuwa yesterday. I wish I had checked out this recipe before we went so I could pick up some fish cake. I think my daughter will be there on New Year’s Day, so I’ll have her get me some. I’d really like to make this for the new year.
Hi Linda! I know, unlike Tamagoyaki, this Datemaki requires the hanpen (fish cake)…. it’s hard to make it without planning. 🙁 I hope you like this recipe. It tastes amazing! 🙂
Using the easiest to find type of surimi in the US, “artificial” or “imitation” crab meat, turns out almost as tasty as using the harder to find (and more expensive when ordered online) hanpen. I added 1tbsp of homemade dashi to compensate for the less intense flavor of the artificial crab meat. The texture is slightly different than when hanpen is used, but it’s fairly close and much easier to find for me.
Delicious recipe, and so easy!
Hi PK! I’m glad to hear surimi works fine! Thank you for your tips, my readers and I appreciate your feedback!
I have a question. I was thinking of making datemaki for New Year’s, but I probably need to make it the night before. Would it be OK to make it on New Year’s Eve and refrigerate it? I live in a warm climate, so I don’t think I would be able to leave it out on the counter. I could take it out of the fridge an hour or two before serving.
Hi Debbie! Yes, we usually make osechi the night or 2 days before for some ingredients. Osechi is seasoned stronger to keep it for several days (so that women in the family don’t need to cook on New Year’s Day etc). Datemaki is actually good even it’s cold, so you can definitely make this ahead, and then serve on New Year’s Day… by the time you eat, it should be around room temp, too. 🙂
Mmm, I can’t wait to try making this! I wonder, have you ever tried freezing these for easy use in bentos?
Hi Candice! I hope you enjoy this recipe! You can definitely freeze this. Before the New Years, Japanese grocery stores start to sell frozen Datemaki from Japan. 🙂
some of the ingredients are hard for me to get, do you have a recipe to make your own hanpen with a possible substitute for the yam? I know there is probably a place to order it (the link next to the item in ingredient list does not load for me), but if there is a way I can make it from scratch myself – I would prefer to. And sorry to be such a pest all the time.
Hi Lori! I understand. I think without a Japanese grocery store it’s quite difficult to gather ingredients to make traditional Japanese new year dishes. I’ve never tried it myself, but white fish paste, scallop or shrimp is supposed to work well as substitute. You can’t use just Nagaimo. I wrote Japanese Yam in the Note section, but I’m going to change it to Nagaimo or Yamaimo as it’s not regular yam. It’s more like sticky and gooey and slimy yam, and saying Japanese yam might be a bit confusing. We use this slimy yam as “binding agent” not as a main ingredient. 🙂
I made this for New Year’s. It tasted great! But I had some issues with mine, and I’d love your help trying to solve them. I made my datemaki on Friday for Sunday. I actually made 2. I stored them in the fridge, still rolled up in the mats and wrapped in plastic. They didn’t go into the fridge until they were completely cooled. On Sunday, I set them out on the counter to get to room temperature, and then I unrolled. One fell apart into pieces right off. The other one had a crack, but I was able to work with it to keep it in tact.
My question is: should I have unrolled them 2-3 hours after they had been cooled and then rerolled and put in the fridge? In other words, not inside the mats?
Happy New Year to you and your family. Or as we say here, Hauoli Makahiki Hou!.
Hi Debbie! I’m glad you liked the taste! Now, let’s see about the issue. I usually keep it rolled in the bamboo wrappers until it’s ready to cut. I think it’s much easier to cut when it’s cold and tighten up. When it comes to room temperature, datemaki gets loose loose I think.
Hauoli Makahiki Hou to you and your family!
I made some of your New Year’s recipes for my Japanese husband:.sweet potato with chestnuts, sweet rolled omelette (I put spinach in the middle); daikon /carrot salad; simmered chicken with vegetables; and simmered shrimp. I kept him out of the kitchen so he wouldn’t see what I was making. When he came to the New Year’s table, he patted his heart and said, “I am in Japan!.” Thank you, Nami-san!!! P.S. I have written a cookbook “Off The Grid, What’s Cookin’?” which includes many JP recipes, especially mozuku – so delish. Feel free to use any of them in your blog if you can give me credit. Thanks again, big time!!!
Hi Lynne! So happy to hear your husband was impressed with your osechi! You did an amazing job! And how cute that you were hiding all the dishes you were cooking. 😀 So sweet! Thank you for introducing your cookbook. I had many delicious mozuku dishes when I was visiting in Okinawa this past week. So delicious!
I just made datemaki using this recipe for part of my osechiryouri and the first batch turned out great! The only thing I realized I need to be more careful with next time is to not make the slits of the datemaki too deep right before rolling it (#8 of instructions). I did that with the second batch and it was a challenge to roll it without pieces falling off! It was a success for a first time recipe and I will make it again next year, thanks!
Hi Kay! Thank you for trying this recipe! Yeah, shallow slits will be enough to be a bit more flexible, so don’t try to make perfect slits, better than accidentally cutting off. xD Thank you for your kind feedback! ox
Do you think datemaki would be appropriate as an ingredient in futomaki, inlieu of the tamagoyaki. Maybe cooked in a larger baking sheet to be slightly thinner and of course sliced into strips instead of rolled.
Hi Grace! Sure! I’d love that idea. 🙂
How early can one make this before planning to serve?
Hi Melissa! You can make it 2-3 days ahead of time. 🙂
I made this for our New Year’s Day party and it came out wonderfully! Some of our guests commented that the flavors gave them fond memories of their recent trip to Japan and the wonderful egg dishes they had there. Thank you for the easy to follow recipe! I’m ready to tackle more for next year’s event!
Hi Jeff! Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear yours came out well and the guests enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂