Onsen Tamago (2008-09-07)
I've never seen an onsen tamago (Hotspring Egg 温泉卵) cooked correctly anywhere outside Japan. The so-called onsen tamago in western countries or other Asian cities are merely soft-boiled eggs.
Onsen tamago should have JIGGLY WHITE with a runny yolk and
semi-formed bits. They are not difficult to make, but the main
thing to remember is to use indirect heat over a long time to
congeal the white and yolk, otherwise you'd end up having a soft-boiled
egg.
I tested the onsen tamago function in my new Toshiba rice cooker
recently and the result is amazing. The eggs were cooked to
PERFECTION in just 25 minutes. I substituted onsen tamago for
hard-boiled eggs in a Cobb salad and KL loved it. I think I heard
a low gasp from him the moment he broke the yolk over the potatoes!
Note: If you want to make onsen tamago manually, you can do what I
used to do. Put a room temperature egg in a large styrofoam cup,
fill the cup fully with boiling water (not hot water from an electric
kettle), cover it with a saucer and leave it for 30 to 45
minutes. The first one you do may not work; the size of
the egg and cup, and the temperature of the egg and the environment
will affect the "cooking" time. Keep trying and eventually you'll
succeed.
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