Homemade recipe for easy tamagoyaki. Enjoy this delicious Japanese rolled omelette in bento or as an appetizer.
Do you like Tamagoyaki, a Japanese Rolled Omelette?
Tamagoyaki is a Japanese dish made of many thin layers of egg crepes. It’s not only pretty to look at but also delicious! The rolled omelette can be enjoyed as a savory snack or as an addition to your bento box. In the past, I’ve shared how to make tamagoyaki in the traditional method by using a tamagoyaki frying pan. However, it can be time-consuming to make from scratch.
The good news is there is another easy way to make this Japanese rolled omelette.
Quick & Easy Tamagoyaki in 3 Minutes
This Quick & Easy Tamagoyaki recipe is really handy especially if you make bento every day. I normally make this easy tamagoyaki in the morning when I prepare my kids’ bento school lunch. It doesn’t require the seasonings used in the traditional recipe. All you really need is eggs and nori seaweed. I added a pinch of sugar to add a light sweetness to the omelette, but it is totally optional. If you have a bit more time, you can also toss in some chopped green onions, finely diced ham, cheese or vegetables. Here you have it – delicious tamagoyaki done in just 3 minutes!
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Quick and Easy Tamagoyaki
Ingredients
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 1 tsp sugar (traditionally, tamagoyaki is sweetened a little bit. You can omit sugar if you like)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ¼ sheet nori (dried laver seaweed) (you can also add chopped green onion, veggies, cheese, ham, etc)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- For one tamagoyaki, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) and 1 tsp sugar together in a small bowl.
- Heat a nonstick frying pan, dip a folded paper towel in 1 Tbsp neutral oil and apply the oil to the frying pan.
- When the pan is hot, reduce the heat to medium. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and quickly swirl around the pan until the bottom of the pan is evenly covered. If the heat is too strong and the egg is getting cooked too fast, remove the pan away from the heat and lower the heat.
- When the egg is 50% cooked, place ¼ sheet nori (dried laver seaweed) in the middle.*
- When the egg is set but still not fully cooked, fold both side of egg crepe toward the center of nori.
- Roll from one side to the other side while gently pressing down to create nice Tamagoyaki shape.
- Remove from the frying pan and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Cut Tamagoyaki into 2–3 pieces.
Great recipe. I just made a few in 10 minutes, and it was really easy. Can’t wait to put them into my bento on Monday.
Hi Jessica! Awesome! Thank you so much for letting me know. Hope you can cut down on making bento by using this quick tamagoyaki recipe instead of regular tamagoyaki. 😀
thanks you very much for easy way of Tamogo Yaki. It’s very useful for me as I love the Japanese food.
Thank you so much Nwe Nwe! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, I wanted to make tamagoyaki for breakfast but didn’n think I would be able to make the original version so I tried this one and I was pleasantly surprised. It was really easy and I was able to shape it right, and the taste was very interesting. I have never had sweetend eggs and the combination of nori and the eggs was great! I will definitely make this for breakfast more often.
Thanks again!
PS: sorry for my grammar, english is not my first language
Hi Melisa! I’m so glad you enjoyed this quick tamagoyaki recipe! Usually tamagoyaki in bento box has sweet taste as we eat it at room temperature (when it’s not hot, non-sweet tamagoyaki will taste bland and borning). 🙂 Your English is perfect and I understood 100%!
I just tested this receipe on my wife and she loved the specific taste 🙂 and the concept. The pan I used was a bit too large but next time I’ll take a smaller one. Also, it wasn’t easy to fold the tamagoyaki properly so I had to be creative with the shape. Anyway it worked very well, thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Adam! Making tamagoyaki requires some practice – I’ve been making since when I was in high school… and it’s not always pretty. =P
I want to make this for my partner but he can’t eat eggs 🙁
Oh well, I’ll just have to make it for myself when he’s away at some point. Looks too delicious not to try!
Hi Hanaconda! Hope you enjoy this dish! 🙂
this tamagoyaki looks delicious and really cute!
Thank you Alesha! 🙂
This looks amazing! For now, I’ll have to use substitutions for the nori but can’t wait until I can’t get some. Do you know of any places I could possibly order it online? Thanks 🙂
Hi Shelby! You can order nori from Amazon or Japanese online supermarket.
http://www.marukaiestore.com/p-5461-takaokaya-yaki-sushi-nori-sushihane-10-sheets.aspx
Hope this helps and enjoy! 🙂
AWESOME site! Love your Recipies! Japanese food is the best!
Hi James! Thank you so much!! I’m so happy to hear you like Japanese food and enjoy my recipes. 🙂
Wow this looks like it would taste interesting. I have never had sweetened egg before but I think I will give this recipe a try. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
Thank you so much Susan! I hope you enjoy your first tamagoyaki. 🙂
If my frying pan is not a non-stick frying pan, it’s a stainless steel frying pan, can use it to make tamagoyaki?
Hello BI! Unfortunately I think it’s very difficult to make without non-stick frying pan. 1) You will require to use more oil 2) once you pour egg into the pool of oil, the egg start to become fluffy 3) then it’s impossible to roll up. If you don’t put much oil, then it will stick… When I received your email, I was making fried rice using non-stick wok. I poured the beaten egg into the wok, then realized it’s not going to be easy to make on non-stick… Hope that helps. 🙂
When I tried making tamagoyaki the first few times, I used a fairly large frying pan which resulted in flimsy omelets that were hard to flip. I now do them in a smaller pan, and it works so much better! Still lopsided, though…. ;(
Never mind, I’ll get it right! 🙂
Hi Ina! The frying pan should be just enough size to fill out with the egg mixture. You will get it right soon! 🙂
Wonderful! I made a lopsided, but awesome tasting tamagoyaki, and I am very proud of myself! 😉 I made it with cheese, and the combination salty cheese and sweet omelet was amazing! I’ll never cook salty eggs again! Who would have thought that eggs with sugar would taste this great?!
Thanks again, Nami.
Hi Ina! I cut in half diagonally when the shape is not perfect and no one notice it’s lopsided. 😀 Cheese is a great option – my kids love adding sharp cheddar cheese. I’m so happy you liked this recipe! Thanks so much for your feedback Ina! 🙂
What a splendid idea! 🙂 I will do that till I get it right!
i have tried making the traditional tamagoyaki (layer by layer) but i just couldn’t make it nicely shaped.
this seems easier for me! 🙂
Hi Lillie! Hope you give it a try! This one is very easy to fold. 🙂
Thank you, thank you, for this short-cut tamagoyaki recipe! It looks just as pretty as the ‘real’ one.
I have seen your original recipe, and I just don’t have the patience to even try doing it that way. 🙁 But I can manage this short version, I think. Now all I have to do is buy some nori and give it a try! 🙂
Hi Ina! This one is really easy. Just make sure you don’t cook the egg all the way until you fold it up (if it’s cooled, it’s not “sticky” enough to roll). Just bottom side has to be cooked so you can lift the egg crepe to fold. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
thanks Nami – going to make tamagoyaki for breakfast tomorrow! …and thank you also for the miso soup recipe – luckily there’s a japanese market just across the street! many thanks. -ryan
Hi Ryan! I hope you enjoy(ed) the tamagoyaki. This is a very easy version and perfect to make for a bento or one person! Glad to hear you liked the miso soup recipe and yay for living close to a Japanese market! 🙂 I used to live just across from a Japanese supermarket too… now just 15 mins away, which is not bad. 🙂