The bright yellow yolk of a fresh, raw egg sits in a bowl atop a steaming pile of fresh, lightly seasoned white rice. A sprinkle of a favorite furikake graces the surface of the whole thing, bringing a tasty splash of color and texture to the dish. This is tamago kake gohan-- a basic, but surprisingly good staple of traditional Japanese breakfast. Frequently abbreviated with the roman letters, TKG, is as easy to make as it is tasty to eat. The components are fairly simple: fresh white rice, a little soy sauce and mirin for seasoning, a raw egg, and basically any type of furikake. The basic nature of the food also makes it infinitely customizable-- as long as the rice and egg are present, the rest of the ingredients can be mixed and matched to the diner’s taste. Ingredients like pickled vegetables, shredded salmon skin, and toasted sesame seed are common variants either added in addition to furikake or in place of it. Follow the following recipe to make your own TKG!
Tamago Kake Gohan
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh, hot white rice
½ tsp mirin
½ tsp soy sauce
1 raw egg (there is always a risk of salmonella when consuming raw egg, so please take that into consideration if you are particularly sensitive or at risk. These eggs are produced in a highly sanitary environment and are generally regarded to carry a slightly lower risk.)
Furikake
Directions:
Place rice into a bowl and make a small indentation in the center.
Crack egg into the indentation and add soy sauce and mirin.
Use chopsticks to vigorously stir the egg, soy sauce and mirin into the rice until it is uniformly distributed.
Sprinkle the desired amount of furikake on top and enjoy!