I would like to introduce one of recipes that my mum used to cook in my childhood – Japanese Beef Mince Omelette. It is one of her quick and easy recipes, especially when there was not much left in the fridge. The beef mince fillings are flavoured with soy sauce and sugar – perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness, which is one of the Japanese signature flavours. It is wrapped around with soft gooey eggs. You can easily imagine how delicious it would be.
What makes this recipe great is that you can put almost any vegetables in the filling. Onions and carrots are definitely good ones. I like using the leaf part of celery which is often wasted. My mum often used potatoes. Zucchini, capsicum, mushrooms and cabbage are all nice too.
If you are struggling to roll the omelette, try to slide it onto the plate and flip the pan at the last minute (refer photos below – hope it helps!). This way is much easier than trying to roll it on the frying-pan like a chef!
My mum has an updated version of this humble omelette – using sliced Wagyu Beef instead of beef mince! Of course, it is really yummy… She made it for us last time we visited her. That was served as just one item in her brunch set, saying “oh, I just cooked it as there were some leftovers from Sukiyaki last night”. What a luxury… She always treats us very well, that has never changed.
Ingredients (Serving for 4)
- 200-230g Beef Mince (or your choice of mince such as pork, chicken and kangaroo)
- 1/6 teaspoon of Nutmeg
- 1 Carrot – finely chopped
- 1/2 Onion – finely chopped
- 2 leaf part of celery – finey chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon of Salt
- 2 teaspoons of Plain Flour
- 1 tablespoon of Water
- 2 teaspoons of Sugar
- 4 teaspoons of Soy Sauce
- 8 Eggs (2 eggs per person)
- 8 teaspoons of Milk (2 teaspoons per person) – can be replaced with water
Method:
Beef Filling
- Heat a teaspoon of cooking oil in a frying-pan over a medium/high heat. Once it gets hot, cook beef mince and nutmeg together while breaking up the mince with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Cook the mince very well. While the mince starts becoming brown, oil from the beef will come out. Even though the mince has become brown and looks cooked, keep cooking until the oil has disappeared. This is a method to bring the best flavour out while eliminating the smell of mince.
- Add chopped carrot, onion and celery. Sprinkle salt over them. Cook all together for about 3-5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
- Sprinkle with plain flour. Keep cooking for about 1 minute or until the flour has disappeared into the beef mince mixture.
- Add water and stir gently into the beef mixture until it becomes creamy.
- Stir sugar and soy sauce into the beef mixture. Turn the heat off and put it aside.
Omelette – will be made one by one
- Heat a teaspoon of cooking oil in a frying-pan over a medium/high heat and swirl to coat. A non-stick frying-pan is recommended. If not (such as an iron pan), heat the frying-pan until it gets really hot, and then turn the heat to medium/low. This is a method to make the frying-pan non-stick.
- Whisk 2 eggs with 2 teaspoons of milk (or water) lightly in a small bowl.
- Once the frying-pan gets hot, add and swirl the egg mixture to coat the pan. Once the eggs are almost set, turn the heat off.
- Place 1/4 of the beef filling vertically on one side. Fold the other edge of the egg over. Slide the omelette to the nearest side (same side the filling is placed). Slide it onto a plate and flip the pan at the last minute.
- Repeat the same to make 4 omelettes. Serve while warm.
Note: If the omelette is out of shape, do not worry! Place a sheet aluminium foil or baking paper over the omelette and make an oval shape by hand gently. Voila!
A Little Bit of Soy 