Onsen Tamago

Onsen-tamago is like poached egg, but the egg is slowly cooked in hot water of about 65 – 75 ℃ until the egg white and yolk just set.  The name “onsen” means hot spring in Japanese, and as the name indicates, onsen-tamago is traditionally cooked in the hot spring.

Onsen-tamago is a typical breakfast menu in Japan.  When you stay at ryokan with hot spring, they usually serve this in the morning with rice, miso soup and other foods.  It’s eaten with sweet sauce made of dashi, soy sauce and mirin.  The egg white is not hard but cooked, and the yolk is paste-like.  You can also buy it from supermarkets and convenience stores.  It’s sold shell attached (looks just like a boiled egg), and comes with a sachet of sauce.

Why I’m writing about onsen-tamago is just because I have a craving for this. 🙂  I used the recipe for onsen-tamago (without onsen) from http://onsentamago.hoge2.info

1. Boil 1 L of water in a pot.
2. Once it comes to boil, turn off the heat.  Add 200ml of cold water and then eggs (eggs should be completely immersed in the water).   Place a lid, and wait for 15 minutes.

Ummm… it looks more like soft boiled egg :p  I think I left the egg in the water too long.  The yolk was just perfect to my liking though.

Just like poached egg, you can add it into salad, pasta, curry, udon, donburi … etc.