Ham n Egg Rolls

Eggs are extremely versatile, and the same holds true for using eggs in bento. Along with the popular tamagoyaki, another great way of using egg is making a thin omelette (usuyaki tamago). These thin sheets of egg are great for cutting out into little shapes, rolling up, as a wrap or nori (seaweed) substitute, or shredded as a topping for noodles. Recently, I used these thin omelettes to make some ham and egg rolls. Continue reading...

A traditional usuyaki tamago is usually made with a little dashi stock and sugar, as well as cornstarch or potato starch (to strengthen the egg mixture).

However, if you plan on using the omelette to cut out shapes, as I often do, I don't bother to add cornstarch. I'm also not very keen on sweet egg, so I usually just make a savoury, thin omelette - with egg, a splash of water and a dash of salt. I use a small non-stick square pan which is great for making tamagoyaki and square thin omelettes, but a small (round) frying pan works just as well. If you make tamagoyaki often enough, it may be worthwhile to invest in a small square tamagoyaki pan. My one was cheap, and very small (for 1 - 2 eggs). I find the small ones more handy, as you need many eggs to cover the larger tamagoyaki pans.

Ham n Egg Rolls

1 large egg
dash salt
1 tsp water
1 slice of ham per thin omelette (I get 4 thin omelettes out of 1 large egg, but this differs according to the size of your pan)
light olive oil (or other oil for cooking)

1. Beat the egg well with the salt and water. Heat up a well oiled small frying pan on low heat.
(Edit: You can strain the egg through a strainer for finer results, but I usually don't bother, as you can see from the bits of egg white showing in the picture...)


2. Add a small amount of egg mixture and tilt the pan so the egg coats the base.


3. When the egg mixture hardens slightly, use a spatula or pair of chopsticks to loosen the sides of the egg. Carefully flip the egg over.


4. Cook for a further 10 seconds. The egg is so thin that it cooks very quickly.


5. Remove, re-oil the base of the frying pan, and repeat until all the egg mixture has been used up.

6. Add a slice of ham on top of each egg omelette, and roll it up together. You can roll it with the egg or the ham on the outside, or a combination of both. Slice into pieces to fit the height of your bento box.

You can also use the thin omelette to decorate your bento by using cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the omelette. 

eg. flower shapes to decorate onigiri.

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