The Easiest Onsen Tamago - Japanese Hot Spring Eggs (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between an onsen and a tamago? ›

In Japanese, onsen means “hot spring” and tamago means “egg.” Onsen tamago (温泉卵), also known as ontama (温玉), is an egg that's slow-poached in the shell using volcanic hot springs water.

An Onsen Egg is an egg cooked at a low temperature of around 63-69°C (145°F-149°F) degrees for between 20-45 minutes.

The results show that cooking temperature and cooking duration are the two critical factors determining the survival of Salmonella Enteritidis in onsen tamago. Large sized eggs cooked for 14 min at a temperature of 70°C can effectively inactivate Salmonella Enteritidis while preserving the texture of the eggs.

Onsen Tamago is a Japanese-style soft-boiled egg with silky, runny egg whites and a more firm, custard-like yolk. It's the opposite of the soft-boiled eggs we normally enjoy–with its gooey yolks and solidified whites–due to the cooking method that's linked to its name.

It's such a humble dish that's made of 5 ingredients. It's nourishing and so easy to make. If you love eggs for their cleansing and balancing power you will love Tamago-Yaki! I LOVE eggs, and breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.

Onsen tamago are great served in noodle soups like ramen, on top of rice, or on dishes like gyudon, but I like the simplicity of the way they were served at the ryokan.

Place eggs straight from the fridge into a oven safe bowl that fits in the air fryer 3. Cover with boiling water 4. Place in air fryer for 45 minutes at 180F 5. Remove eggs and immediately place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process 6.

Uncracked onsen eggs can be kept refrigerated for up to 2 days. You can enjoy the eggs cold if you'd like. To just take the chill of the eggs, remove the eggs from the fridge and let them warm up at room temperature. If you prefer the eggs warm, you can reheat the eggs by placing them in hot water for about 10 minutes.

The egg has a unique texture in that the white tastes like a delicate custard (milky and soft) and the yolk comes out firm, but retains the colour and creamy texture of an uncooked yolk. This special texture is the result of the egg yolk and egg white solidifying at different temperatures.

In Japan, extensive measures are taken to ensure that eggs are safe to eat raw, even without breaking the shell. For instance, highly advanced machines are used to clean the eggs, check their quality, sort them by size and package them.

Why do Japanese put raw eggs on rice? ›

Why It Works. The hot rice helps thicken the egg slightly, giving the whole dish a lighter, fluffier texture. Beating the eggs and rice thoroughly with chopsticks introduces air into the egg whites, making them fluffier. Soy sauce, MSG, and furikake are all umami-rich ingredients that give the dish a nice savory flavor ...

The most distinctive characteristic is the use of “raw” eggs. Compared to other countries, eggs in Japan are considered to be much less contaminated by salmonella, one of the causes of food poisoning, and therefore raw eggs can be eaten without worry. The most popular way to eat raw eggs is “Tamagokakegohan” (TKG).

If you love half-boiled eggs but the thought of eating raw yolks makes you queasy, onsen eggs are the answer to your agony. Onsen eggs are in fact half-boiled eggs in reverse, eggs with cooked yolks and runny whites. I find it rather strange and sometimes wonder if the eggs are delicious just because they are reversed.

Science behind Onsen Tamago

This is only possible because of the difference in the temperature at which egg white and egg yolk get hardened. The egg white starts hardening at 58°C/136°F, but it does not harden completely until it reaches to 80°C/176°F. On the other hand, the yolk hardens at around 65-70°C/149-158°F.

It's because the soft-boiled egg is marinated in a soy-based sauce and is full of umami. The outer layer of the egg white absorbs the flavour of the marinade and stains the egg light brown colour. Ramen Egg is basically a marinated soft-boiled egg (it can also be hard-boiled).

Simply put, an onsen meets two important criteria: the water is at least 25 degrees Celsius when it surfaces and it contains more than a defined amount of natural mineral components. Why are onsen hot?

Is onsen egg the same as poached egg? Onsen egg is kind of like a poached egg in the sense that they both are cooked in water, the whites are set, and the yolk is runny. However, onsen egg is cooked slowly and gently in hot water, with the shell on, to achieve a custard-like, delicate egg white and runny egg yolk.

The steady temperature of the onsen (hot springs) make this an easy way to prepare the perfect egg, and Japanese style hotels operating at hot spring resorts have often served this type of boiled egg, and this is why those boiled eggs are called “onsen-tamago.”

Usuyaki-tamago is thinner, kinshi-tamago is a kind of usuyaki-tamago that is cut like fine threads, and iri-tamago is similar to scrambled eggs.