Niratama (ニラたま) is stir-fried garlic chive/Chinese chive and scrambled egg. A variation of Nira Tama is similar to a Chinese dish, but what we made here is more home-cooking than anything else. Nira Tama is easy to make with simple ingredients, so it can be an additional side dish for an everyday dinner.
Nira, a green, flat, and grass-like vegetable, is originally from east Asia, and came to Japan 1500 years ago; however, it became more commonly eaten by Japanese people in the last 100 years. The strong aroma of the vegetable is similar to garlic and is used sparsely in Japanese cuisine as an energy-packed nourishing food. Nira is often used in Gyoza and ethnic food like Kimchi Nabe hot pot to enjoy the garlicky smell and flavor.
Although Nira Tama is easy to make, one step you should to keep: make scrambled eggs separately. It may be tempting to take a short cut and stir-fry the Nira and eggs together, but you can get more fluffy and substantial chunky eggs in the dish by cooking eggs only first. Some people add sliced pork or brown onion, and that’s tasty too. But we kept it simple here. If you want one more thing with dinner, this quick but tasty side dish is perfect. Next time you find Nira at a market, grab it and make Nira Tama for dinner!
Video
Instructions
- Cut Nira into 2″ (5 cm) long pieces. Beat eggs in a bowl with salt.
- Heat a frying pan with 1/2 Tbsp oil at medium hight heat. Make soft cooked scrambled eggs. Remove eggs from the pan and set aside.
- Clean the pan with a paper towel, heat 1/2 Tbsp oil at medium heat. Cook Nira chive for 30 seconds, add oyster sauce and soy sauce, and stir. Mix in scrambled eggs, and quickly remove from the pan.
