Onsen Tamago, or “sizzling spring eggs“ in Japanese, are slowly poached within the shell in volcanic sizzling spring water. This creates essentially the most luxurious, silky egg whites and custard-like yolks. Discover ways to make this scrumptious, straightforward recipe at house with my foolproof technique.
Japan is world well-known for its 30,000+ pure sizzling springs or onsen. Guests can take a calming and therapeutic bathtub at one in every of Japan‘s 3,000 onsen resorts and keep at a resort’s ryokan or conventional inn to expertise their heat hospitality and scrumptious delicacies.
After I keep at a ryokan, one in every of their breakfast dishes that I eagerly anticipate is onsen tamago (温泉卵, “sizzling spring egg”). Why? As a result of this Japanese-style poached egg has the silkiest and creamiest texture. It‘s so comforting and satisfying to eat with sizzling steamed rice within the morning!
Again within the U.S., I discover myself craving onsen tamago. Fortunately, it’s straightforward to make this luxury egg dish in your individual kitchen. Whether or not you’re an onsen-tamago lover or first-time eater, let me present you my foolproof technique as we speak so you may make it at house anytime!
What’s Onsen Tamago?
In Japanese, onsen means “sizzling spring” and tamago means “egg.” Onsen tamago (温泉卵), also referred to as ontama (温玉), is an egg that’s slow-poached within the shell utilizing volcanic sizzling springs water.
What’s so particular about these eggs? They’re completely poached inside their shell, and the white is silky, creamy, and softer than the half-cooked yolk. That is the other of a typical poached egg cooked in simmering water, with a agency white and comfortable yolk.
The Chemistry Behind Onsen Tamago
We are able to obtain this particular texture as a result of the egg yolk and white solidify at totally different temperatures. The yolk solidifies at 158°F (70°C) and the white solidifies at 176°F (80°C).
To attain excellent onsen tamago with creamy and silky whites and soft-cooked yolks, we should cook dinner eggs in sizzling water at a relentless temperature of 149–154°F (65–68°C) for half-hour or 154–158°F (68–70°C) for 20 minutes. This mimics the temperature of Japan’s volcanic sizzling spring waters.
Disclaimer: Many folks on this planet, together with the Japanese, devour raw eggs of their delicacies. Nonetheless, in response to the FDA, eggs ought to be cooked to 165°F (74°C) in an effort to be thought of protected. Please know that the proper temperature for cooking onsen tamago is beneath the rule of thumb. There’s a danger of salmonella by consuming undercooked eggs.
Why This Recipe Works for Everybody
As we don’t have a gentle provide of sizzling spring water at a relentless temperature, right here’s a way that works for typical house kitchens. This method doesn’t require particular gear like a microwave, thermometer, or sous vide machine (immersion circulator). It additionally doesn’t use ice cubes for cooling the cooked eggs; this simplifies issues, as a few of you don’t maintain ice cubes helpful.
Right here’s what you’ll want:
- A range, a heavy-bottomed small pot, and a ladle (I take advantage of a fine-mesh skimmer). Why a heavy-bottomed pot? It retains warmth higher.
- Boiling water and faucet water to create a really perfect beginning temperature for the cooking water.
- 4 refrigerated giant eggs. Chilly eggs offset the upper beginning temperature of the cooking water. Some recipes require eggs at room temperature, however our readers’ kitchens have totally different temperatures relying on the place they reside, and I wished to keep away from the additional uncertainty.
In case you observe my recipe exactly, you will obtain excellent onsen tamago as the ultimate consequence. In case you change the recipe, it should have an effect on the water temperature and chances are you’ll not obtain an ideal final result.
🙋🏻♀️ Additionally, remember that you may customise the firmness of the yolk by growing or lowering the cooking time.
Tips on how to Make Onsen Tamago
Listed below are the easy directions on methods to make excellent onsen tamago and not using a thermometer or immersion circulator.
- Put together the cooking water: Boil 4¼ cups (1000 ml or 1 L) of water in a small heavy-bottomed pot. As soon as boiling, take away it from the range. Add ¾ cup (200 ml) of chilly faucet water (65°F/18°C) to the boiled water.
- My sizzling water temperature at this stage was 180°F (82°C).
- Cook dinner the eggs: Gently submerge 4 refrigerated giant eggs, one by one, within the sizzling water. Cowl the pot, set a timer, and poach for 17 minutes for a runnier yolk and 20 minutes for a creamier yolk.
- My sizzling water temperature regularly declined to 154–158°F (68–70°C).
- Take away from the water: Open the lid, take away the eggs from the recent water, and put aside for 5 minutes. The residual warmth will proceed to cook dinner the eggs.
- The water temperature was 154°F (68°C) after I opened the lid after 20 minutes.
- Able to serve: Serve heat or at room temperature with a drizzle of the dashi soy sauce or add one to curry rice, noodle soup, a hambagu meal, a rice bowl, or a plate of chilly noodles.
FAQs
What if I don’t have a heavy-bottomed pot?
A light-weight or thin-bottomed pot is often made with supplies that will warmth up and funky down extra shortly than heavy-bottomed pots. Due to this fact, strive utilizing much less chilly faucet water, about ⅓–½ cup (100–150 ml) as an alternative ¾ cup (200 ml). In case you do that technique, maintain us posted in your ends in the feedback beneath.
Can I take advantage of medium eggs?
Since they’re smaller, they’ll cook dinner sooner. Please shorten the cooking time. FYI, a big egg with out the shell is 50 grams.
Tips on how to Serve Onsen Tamago
Onsen tamago with a dashi-based soy sauce (だし醤油) is a typical alternative of egg to serve for Japanese breakfast.
You may also serve onsen tamago in varied dishes. I regulate the onsen tamago’s cooking time to cook dinner the egg yolk roughly relying on how I take advantage of it. For instance, I favor a runny yolk on Japanese curry and a firmer yolk on hambagu.
Listed below are a few of my options:
- Put it over fried rice: Kimchi Fried Rice, Garlic Fried Rice
- Prime your Japanese curry rice: Japanese Dry Curry, Keema Curry, Hen Curry, Vegetarian Curry, Beef Curry
- Add it to a rice bowl: Gyudon, Yakiniku Don, Tamago Kake Gohan
- Put it in noodle soup: Kake Udon, Chilly Tanuki Udon, Vegetarian Udon, Soba Noodle Soup, Miso Ramen, Vegetarian Ramen, Shoyu Ramen, Mazesoba (brothless ramen)
- Prime a essential dish: Hambagu (Japanese hamburger steak), Nikomi Hambagu (stewed hamburger steak), Loco Moco, spaghetti carbonara (my favourite), Avocado Toast
- Put it in your soup and sizzling pot: Basic Miso Soup, Cabbage and Onsen Tamago Miso Soup, Chilly Miso Soup (Hiyajiru), Zosui (Japanese rice soup), Nabeyaki Udon, Miso Nikomi Udon
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Onsen Tamago (Japanese Scorching Spring Egg)
Onsen Tamago, or “sizzling spring eggs“ in Japanese, are slowly poached within the shell in sizzling spring water. This creates essentially the most luxurious, silky egg whites and custard-like yolks. Discover ways to make this scrumptious, straightforward recipe at house with my foolproof technique.
Elements
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Directions
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Earlier than You Begin: You should use a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan (I take advantage of All-Clad Copper Core 2 QT saucepan) that retains warmth nicely and is sufficiently small to fully submerge the eggs within the measured water. In case you don‘t have one, please see my FAQs part of the weblog publish for my suggestion. Additionally, you want precisely 4 refrigerated giant eggs for this recipe to attain the proper water temperature for poaching. Now, collect all of the elements.
To Poach the Eggs
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To the heavy-bottomed saucepan, add 4¼ cups water (1 L). Cowl with a tight-fitting lid and produce it to a boil.
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As soon as boiling, flip off the warmth and take away the pot from the range. I moved my saucepan to a sizzling pad on my countertop. Subsequent, take away 4 giant eggs (50 g every w/o shell) from the fridge.
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To the pot of just-boiled water, add ¾ cup faucet water (200 ml) that is colder than room temperature and stir. The recent water within the saucepan ought to be roughly 180°F (82°C). Then, gently submerge the chilly eggs, one by one, into the recent water utilizing a fine-mesh skimmer. Tip: In case you‘re utilizing a light-weight or thin-bottomed pot, strive including solely ⅓–½ cup (100–150 ml) of chilly faucet water as an alternative.
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Instantly cowl with the lid and set a timer for 17–20 minutes. Poach 17 minutes for runnier yolks and 20 minutes for creamier yolks. In case you observe my technique exactly, the water temperature can be 154°F (68°C) once you open the lid after 20 minutes. Observe: In case you favor a firmer yolk, you may experiment with an extended poaching time.
To End the Onsen Tamago
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After 17–20 minutes, gently take the eggs out of the water, one by one. Set them apart for 5 minutes. The residual warmth will proceed to cook dinner the eggs.
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In the meantime, reduce the inexperienced onion/scallion into skinny slices and put aside.
To Serve
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Benefit from the Onsen Tamago both heat or at room temperature. Crack the egg right into a small bowl, pour the dashi-based sauce into the bowl, and garnish with the sliced inexperienced onion as part of a Japanese breakfast. Attempt the egg on high of steamed rice with a splash of soy sauce. It’s additionally scrumptious in a rice bowl, on high of Japanese curry rice, in sizzling noodle soup, or on a plate of chilly udon or ramen noodles. See beneath for serving concepts.
To Serve Onsen Tamago in Different Dishes
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Prime a rice dish: Onsen Tamago is a protein-rich topping for fried rice like Kimchi Fried Rice and Garlic Fried Rice. Attempt including one to complete a Japanese curry rice plate like Japanese Dry Curry, Keema Curry, Hen Curry, Vegetarian Curry, and Beef Curry.
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Add it to a rice bowl: It‘s a silky and wealthy topping for Gyudon (simmered beef bowl) and Yakiniku Don (grilled beef bowl). It additionally works fantastically in a poached-egg model of Tamago Kake Gohan.
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Put it in noodle soup: Up the protein and add one to your Kake Udon (traditional udon noodle soup), Vegetarian Udon, Chilly Tanuki Udon, and traditional Soba Noodle Soup. It‘s additionally nice in Shio Ramen, Miso Ramen, Vegetarian Ramen, Shoyu Ramen, and Mazesoba (Japanese brothless ramen).
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Prime a essential dish: Add one to your Hambagu (Japanese hamburger steak), Nikomi Hambagu (stewed hamburger steak), Loco Moco, and spaghetti carbonara (my favourite). It additionally works nicely on Avocado Toast.
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Put it in your soup and sizzling pot: Bulk up your Japanese soups by including one to traditional Miso Soup, Cabbage and Onsen Tamago Miso Soup, Chilly Miso Soup (Hiyajiru), and Zosui (Japanese rice soup). It‘s scrumptious in Nabeyaki Udon, Miso Nikomi Udon, and Scorching Pot for One, too.
To Retailer
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You possibly can maintain the uncracked Onsen Tamago for 1–2 days within the fridge. To reheat, take away it from the fridge and produce it to room temperature. To heat it up additional, place it in a bowl of 160ºF (70ºC) water for 10 minutes. Don’t reheat greater than that; in any other case, the warmth will cook dinner the egg. Preserve any leftover sauce within the fridge for 4–5 days.
Diet
Diet Information
Onsen Tamago (Japanese Scorching Spring Egg)
Quantity per Serving
% Every day Worth*
* P.c Every day Values are primarily based on a 2000 calorie weight-reduction plan.
Editor’s Observe: This publish was initially revealed on January 22, 2015. It was republished with a brand new video, new pictures, and extra useful content material on April 19, 2024.
