Tamago Kake Gohan (Egg Over Rice)
The classic Japanese egg-over-rice breakfast — ready in two minutes, high-protein, lactose-free. Simple but with a couple of tricks that make it silky rather than plain.
- 380
- kcal
- 18g
- protein
- 5 min
- time
Method
Get hot rice ready
Cook your hot freshly cooked rice (or use freshly made hot rice). It needs to be properly hot and steaming — this is what gently cooks the egg.
Make a well
Tip the hot rice into a bowl and make a small well in the centre with your spoon.
Add the egg
Crack the very fresh egg straight into the well. For the silkiest result, beat the egg in a separate small bowl first, then pour it in — but cracking it straight in works fine too.
Mix briskly
Add the soy sauce and mix everything together briskly. The heat of the rice thickens the egg into a glossy, custardy coating as you stir.
Garnish and eat
Top with spring onion, sliced (optional) and sesame seeds (optional) if using, and eat straight away while hot.
Notes
Around 380 kcal and 18g protein. The egg is barely cooked, so freshness genuinely matters here — use the freshest egg you have, well within its date, and a good-quality one if you can. The rice MUST be hot: it's the heat of the rice that gently warms the egg and turns it silky. Cold or lukewarm rice leaves it raw and claggy. If the egg won't set even with hot rice: warm the bowl with boiling water first and dry it, use a room-temperature egg (sit it in hot tap water a few minutes), beat the egg separately and pour the HOT rice onto the egg rather than egg onto rice. Variations: a few drops of sesame oil, a little dashi powder, torn nori, or a dab of chilli. Lightly cooked egg carries a small food-safety risk — be cautious if pregnant, very young, elderly or immunocompromised.