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Japanese

Onsen tamago (hot-spring eggs)

Non-vegetarian

温泉卵 · onsen tamago

Eggs held in water at about 64 °C until the yolk becomes thick and custardy while the white stays barely set and silky, served in a little seasoned dashi.

Onsen tamago (hot-spring eggs) is a Japanese egg dish, ready in about 50 minutes and made with egg and dashi. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Soft onsen egg with silky white in a celadon bowl with broth
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
5 min
Cook
45 min
Total
50 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
81

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the dashi (opens in a new tab), soy and mirin (opens in a new tab) together, then cool to room temperature.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a large pan of water to 64–65 °C. Lower in the whole eggs (opens in a new tab) in their shells and hold the water at that temperature for 40–45 minutes, adjusting the heat or adding a splash of cold water as needed (a sous-vide circulator makes this easy).

    Use a thermometer — a few degrees higher sets the yolk firm.

  3. Step 3

    Crack each egg (opens in a new tab) gently into a small bowl; the loose outer white can be poured off. Spoon over the dashi (opens in a new tab) and top with spring onion (opens in a new tab).

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Japan · Well documentedNamed after the eggs traditionally cooked in the water of Japanese hot springs (onsen).More food from Japan
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Egg dishes · Side dishes
Cooking method
Poached, Sous vide
Taste
umami, creamy, mild
Diet
Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Cook more with
Egg · Dashi · Soy sauce · Mirin
Techniques
Poaching · Sous vide

Allergens

  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Fishfrom dashi
  • Contains: Wheatfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Glutenfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

81 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 85 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 38%
  • Carbohydrate 3%
  • Fat 59%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy81 kcal95 kcal
Protein7.2 g8.4 g
Carbohydrate0.6 g0.7 g
Net carbohydrate0.6 g0.7 g
Sugars0.2 g0.2 g
Added sugars——
Fibre0 g0 g
Fat5 g5.9 g
Saturated fat1.6 g1.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol186 mg218 mg
Sodium274 mg320 mg
Salt equivalent0.7 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
125 mg
Calcium
30 mg
Iron
0.9 mg
Magnesium
10 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
81 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.7 µg
Folate (DFE)
24 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: spring onion.
  • Dashi: Home-prepared fish stock (FDC 172885) used as a stand-in for katsuobushi-kombu dashi; both are very low in energy.
  • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Serve on hot rice, udon or a salad; the yolk becomes the sauce.

Food safety

  • Runny or lightly cooked eggs: the UK Food Standards Agency says hen eggs with the British Lion mark or from the Laid in Britain scheme can be eaten lightly cooked by everyone, including young children, pregnant people and older adults (but not people who are severely immunocompromised). Otherwise — and following USDA advice in the US — cook eggs until white and yolk are firm for vulnerable groups, or use pasteurised eggs. Duck, goose and quail eggs should always be cooked through.
  • Holding at 64 °C does not make eggs reliably safe for vulnerable groups — use pasteurised or British Lion eggs.

Storage

  • Cool in iced water and refrigerate in the shell for up to 2 days; warm in 50 °C water for 10 minutes to serve.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Egg4 piece · 200 g
Used in step 2

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