Preparing Sushi Omelet (Tamago).

Thin egg sheets. Yield: 4-6 sheets. With chopsticks, beat 4 large eggs with 1 Tablespoon sugar (or more to taste) and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour through fine-holed strainer into glass measuring cup to remove any membrane. Heat skillet and oil well. pour a small amount of the egg mixture (1/6 to 1/4 of the total) into the skillet and tilt pan to spread. When the bottom has set, remove from heat and carefully lift up egg sheet taking care not to tear the sheet. Turn over and return to heat and cook lightly for a few seconds until the second side is golden. Carefully remove and drain. Repeat.

Thick egg sheets. Yield: 1 sheet. Use same recipe, but cook entire amount at once. Cooking is similar. The preferred pan is a 9-inch square tamago pan.

Americanized medium thick egg sheet. Yield: 1 sheet. Beat two large eggs with 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour into well-greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Bake in preheated 300 F oven for 15 minutes. Carefully flip egg sheet onto paper towel and drain. (I would be tempted to cook all of these in a similar manner, possibly using a square baking pan.)

Tamago yaki. Yield: 1 roll or sheet. Beat four large eggs, 4 Tablespoons dashi (stock, see below), 1 Tablespoon sugar (or more to taste), 1 teaspoon mirin (sweet rice wine), 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, and salt to taste. Strain as before. In a well-oiled tamago pan, pour in about a quarter of the mixture and spread as if making a crepe. As the mixture cooks, and as it bubbles and sets, roll it and move to the back of the pan. Reoil the pan and add more mixture, being sure to get some under the roll. Again, as it cooks, roll the roll to the front of the pan, then move to the back. Repeat until all the mixture is cooked. Remove the roll from the pan and roll as if for a sushi roll and squeeze out excess liquid. It can be rolled into a round or rectangular shape, then is sliced when cooled.

Dashi. A basic stock, usually made from dried bonito flakes and dried kelp. You can use instant dashi, called dashi-no-moto, which is like a bouillon cube. You can also substitute any other stock if you don't like the fishy taste.