Tamago kake gohan

"Egg Rice"

As previously mentioned, I'm working to expand my knowledge of Asian cuisine- namely Japanese food. I had seen tamago kake gohan on various animes, read countless articles, and decided to finally try it.

It starts with a hot bowl of rice, crack a raw egg in and throw in a dash of soy sauce, then you can add the optional furikake, mirin, additional egg yolk, bonito flakes, nori- you name it. I made mine below with only soy sauce and furikake- I think next time I'll use more rice. I think the ratio of cold egg to hot rice wasn't large enough and my food cooled down too much for my liking (I like to eat my food so hot it burns my mouth). I'm also excited to try it with additional bonito flakes and maybe even kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise).

As soon as you throw the egg in, you whisk it all together with your chopsticks. The whisking will separate the egg into thin layers among the hot rice grains, which will cook the egg, and the whisking lets air bubbles into the granules and the egg, making the dish a semi whipped egg and rice dish. It sounds a little off putting, but the taste is worth it.

Before

After

This author penned a great chapter/blog on TKG, on the history of it and its cultural importance. I highly recommend it for a little backstory before you chow down.

"Raw Egg on Rice is a Japanese Feast"- Mami Suzuki
=]