Tamago Kanten Sweet-Savory Egg Agar

Name: Tamago Kanten Sweet-Savory Egg Agar
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: stick agar 7 g; water 500 ml; egg 1 piece; soy sauce 5 ml; mirin 5 ml; sugar 2 g; salt 2 g

Quick answer

Active time: 50 min
Waiting: See the steps
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

Agar seasoned sweet and salty with soy sauce and sugar sets around threads of yellow egg and reaches the table as both a sweet and a side dish.

In the Shonai area of Yamagata, where agar dishes were part of everyday cooking, adding egg, once a precious ingredient, made it food for New Year and festivals. Each bite pairs soft egg with agar that breaks off cleanly.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

egg1 piece

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Soak 7g stick agar in plenty of cold water for at least 30 minutes until flexible throughout.

Squeeze out the water with both hands and tear into pieces no larger than 2cm.
2

Combine the torn agar and 500ml fresh water in a pan over medium heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spatula.

Once boiling, lower the heat and cook 2 more minutes until completely clear and dissolved.
3

Stir in 5ml soy sauce, 5ml mirin, 2g sugar, and 2g salt for 30 seconds to dissolve.

Beat one egg in a small bowl until the white is evenly broken up.
4

Keep the agar at a gentle boil and quickly stream the egg in a thin circle down a chopstick.

Leave undisturbed for 15 seconds, then fold from bottom to top only twice with the spatula.
5

Rinse the inside of a square container with water and immediately pour in the hot egg agar.

Skim only large surface bubbles, let excess heat escape, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
6

Release the firm agar around the edge with a wet knife and invert onto a plate.

Cut into 12 squares, divide among four plates with the egg pattern visible, and serve chilled.