Bento favourite: vegan tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki is a Japanese rolled omelet, which is a popular Bento staple. My favourite vegan version is made with a chickpea batter.

Omelet mix (yields 2 cups)

What you need (dry mix):

1 cup chickpea flour (a.k.a. gram flour)

2/3 cup tapioca flour or cornstarch

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 - 1 tsp kala namak (Indian black salt)*

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp curry powder

Sift all ingredients together, mix and store in an air-tight container.

* You can use regular salt instead, but it won't have the eggy taste of kala namak.

For 1 omelet (2 servings):

1/2 cup dry mix

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp (rice)vinegar

Oil for frying

In a small blender or bowl, mix together dry mix, water, vegetable oil, soy sauce and vinegar into a thin batter.

Heat a bit of oil in a skillet or frying pan, and pour the batter into the pan. Spread the batter around into a thin omelet. Cook until the the top of the omelet is completely dry and turn off the heat.

Fold 1/3 of the omelet to the middle. Fold the opposing 1/3 of the omelet also to the middle, you now have 3 layers.

Line a sushi mat with a piece of cling film.

From one of the open ends, roll up the layered omelet. Transfer the roll to the sushi mat. Roll up the sushi mat + cling film tightly, making sure to twist the ends of the cling film so the roll is tightly sealed. Let the tamagoyaki cool inside the sushi mat.

When preparing your bento, cut the tamagoyaki in even slices and place in your bento box.

The dry mix keeps for several months in an air-tight container.

Once cooked, the tamagoyaki keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Original recipe omelet mix (Dutch)