I was commissioned to write a recipe for Tenderstem broccoli that could be done in ten minutes. I came up with this healthy, low fat, very quick Japanese omelette roll recipe. Low fat? All very unlike me. Use any fine stems of broccoli or sprouting broccoli. Or use asparagus.
The omelette is very thin (should be thinner than in the photo) because the egg is diluted with a little water. It also requires, to do it properly, some serious chopstick nimbleness. This is called Tamagoyaki in Japan and to be authentic, should be cooked in a rectangular frying pan.
Tamagoyaki, rolled omelette with sprouting broccoli
These rolled omelettes are typically Japanese. It takes a little practise, but after a few tries you will master the technique.
Serves 1
Ingredients
- a knob of butter
- 3 broccoli stems, choose the slimmest, or sprouting broccoli
- Boiling water from the kettle
- Pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- a little vegetable oil to cover the pan
- 1 tbsp of caster sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp soy/tamari/shoyu or ponzu sauce
Instructions
- Put a knob of butter into your frying pan on a medium heat. Place the broccoli in the pan and add a little boiling water and salt to the pan, just enough to cover the stems. Braise for 4 minutes until the stems are tender.
- Drain the broccoli stems and set it aside, and wipe the moisture from the frying pan.
- Whisk together the eggs, caster sugar, salt, water and soy/tamari/shoyu or ponzu sauce. Add a little vegetable oil to your frying pan, just covering the bottom and add the egg mixture so that it covers the bottom of the pan.
- Add a small amount of the egg mixture to your pan. Once the egg has cooked slightly so that the top is still slightly uncooked, push it over to the side of your pan. Keep adding small amounts of egg mixture. Oil the pan lightly with a kitchen towel each time in between.
- After a couple of additions of the egg mixture, add the broccoli stems to the omelette, laying them next to each other stem to tip. Then, using a spatula, start to roll the omelette over the stems. You are aiming for a rolled Japanese style omelette with the bright green crisp broccoli stems inside.
- Then continue to add the egg in small amounts. As you add more egg and roll it up each time, your egg roll will start getting larger and easier to add new layers. Keep adding the egg in new layers until you have used it all up.
- Serve whole or sliced cross ways with small dipping bowl of sauce, ponzu or soy.
Is it like those cabbage omelettes you can get down brick lane market on a Sunday? Love those…xxx