Easy to make, perfectly nutritious, and incredibly tasty. When it comes to most meals, you鈥檙e lucky to achieve two of those attributes. But tamago kake gohan鈥擩apanese for 鈥渆gg rice鈥濃攎anages all three聽and does it for under $1 in ingredients per serving.
Pre-lockdown, I always rewarded myself for going to the gym with a hearty takeout meal immediately afterward. But as I transitioned聽to聽the聽new normal, in addition to improvising home workouts, I needed to adapt with something I could whip up聽in my own kitchen. Anything聽I cook during the middle of a workday needs to be easy to make聽and easy to clean up. I was聽also looking for food containing聽ample protein聽and plenty of聽carbs. While searching for simple,聽rice-based options, I remembered my favorite Japanese breakfast聽and discovered for making it.
What You鈥檒l Need
- A pot with a lid
- A measuring cup
- A bowl
- Chopsticks
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 whole eggs and one egg yolk
- Soy sauce聽to taste
- (a Japanese rice seasoning made from sesame seeds and seaweed)聽to taste
- Sriracha聽to taste
Instructions
Making Japanese-style egg rice couldn鈥檛 be easier. Just cook a cup of white rice according to the package directions. Once that鈥檚 done, spoon the rice into a bowl, crack two raw eggs atop it, and add some soy sauce and furikake. A good bowl of egg rice is defined by its foamy texture, which you achieve by beating the raw eggs into the rice with chopsticks.聽L贸pez-Alt聽suggests doing聽this vigorously, to help incorporate air into the mixture. I then finish聽my rice bowl with a聽raw egg yolk for added protein. (As long as the rice is hot enough, the eggs聽should partially cook, but if you鈥檙e worried about raw eggs, you can always use pasteurized ones.)聽Add聽some sriracha and a little more furikake. Eat it while it鈥檚 hot.
The end result provides聽about 22 grams of protein, 44 grams of carbs, 17 grams of fat, and 430 calories, according to the nutrition details on the various packages I use.
Wouldn鈥檛 this dish be healthier with the addition of vegetables? Absolutely. It鈥檚 great with slices of avocado, some extra聽seaweed (already an ingredient found in聽furikake), or, even better,聽a pickled vegetable like kimchi, which adds a layer of sour spiciness.
Tamago kake gohan is so quick and simple to make that it鈥檚 become my go-to post-workout meal five days a week. After eating it, I feel clearheaded, energetic, and not overly full.聽I also avoid聽the unsettled tummy I sometimes get from other post-workout shakes and meals. Not bad for a buck.