My best friend introduced me to Tamagoyaki. Never before had I added sugar to a stove-top egg dish. Some of you in the know are going to read through the ingredients and demand to know why you don’t see the word “dashi” (normally an ingredient in Tamagoyaki). You make a good point. This is my pseudo version of Tamagoyaki. Maybe I should be calling it a rolled egg omelette, but Tamagoyaki is an awesome word. And while I realize this makes me sound ignorant about the Japanese language, the word makes me think of Tamagotchi, which makes me think about the digital pets of my 90s childhood.

Anyway, time for some notes on this refreshing dish. When it comes to noodles, I typically choose somen. They seem to really absorb the sauce, and the way they swirl into the bowl is just graceful. If I don’t use somen, I use soba. Feel free to experiment with other types of noodles, maybe I will too. Regarding cooking the noodles, I suggest waiting until you are practically ready to assemble the dish before boiling them. If you cook them first and then let them sit while you prepare everything else, the noodles will most likely end up sticky and clump together.

The sauce is extremely forgiving and is designed to give you creative freedom. While I generally use regular soy sauce, I’ve used black soy sauce as a substitute on several occasions, but combined with the sugary eggs it can be a bit too sweet.

My main recommendation (and plea) for this dish is that you cut the vegetables into matchsticks. Why? They look good. They look really good. Small piles of diced carrot and cucumber on top of the noodles just don’t make you do a double take the same way neatly aligned stacks of julienned vegetables do. Also, this is the perfect opportunity to improve those knife skills, amirite?

Now the egg. This is by far the most difficult step in the process. I’ll start with a side note. Maybe this is common knowledge, but are you aware that each pleat of a chef’s hat represents a different way to cook an egg? So learn the Tamagoyaki and that’s one more pleat for you.

Here’s what works for me. First, the pan needs to be hot. Don’t pour the first layer immediately after you turn the heat on. Wait until the pan is actually hot, add some oil, give the oil a moment to heat up, and then add the first egg layer. I used to roll up the cooked layer with the help of a spatula (and my fingers), but recently I read somewhere that using two chopsticks makes the whole process go much smoother. It’s true, I’m telling you.

Another egg secret. Be sure to keep the pan oiled. If your non-stick isn’t as non-stick as it claims to be, this whole egg thing will go downhill if you forget the oil between pours. Speaking of the layers, I keep mine relatively thin. I find it makes the rolling easier and results in fewer breaks and tears as the egg rolls and bends.