Why Bayashi Loves Including Raw Egg Yolks In His Cooking - Exclusive
Who is Bayashi? Well for one, he's TikTok Japan's "Creator of the Year 2022." He's also on TikTok's 2022 Discover List of important and influential creators and has over 38 million followers and counting. As for his content? The videos he puts out have a very specific vibe, to put it lightly. The videos are often wordless and feature the sounds of chopping and frying, much like ASMR cooking videos, but they're also very fast-paced and chaotic. He was partially inspired by mukbang videos, so he makes and eats very indulgent food, but unlike mukbang creators, the eating isn't really the point of his content.
The more of Bayashi's videos you watch, the more you notice elements he returns to again and again. He loves to use a mortar and pestle to do camera magic, like in this pizza toast video in which he uses clever editing to make it look like he was able to pound processed cheese slices and milk together to make fresh mozzarella. He deep-fries all sorts of ingredients and he sneaks natto (Japanese fermented soybeans) into unexpected places. He also frequently tops food with raw egg yolks, even using them to finish an egg salad dish. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Bayashi explained why he uses raw yolks so much (it's not just because he likes them).
The egg yolks are strategic
Part of Bayashi's signature is that all of his dishes are low-carb. A former personal trainer, he decided to incorporate his low-carb lifestyle into his food content, and egg yolks meet this requirement. But topping dishes with raw egg yolks isn't his original idea. As he says, "It is very common in Japan to eat raw egg yolks."
Per Ikidane Nippon, raw egg mixed with rice is a ubiquitous breakfast food in Japan. Raw yolks are also used as toppers for udon dishes and beef bowls and as a dip for sukiyaki. Eating raw eggs is so popular in Japan that the country's food system is organized to make this practice safer. Egg production and inspection in the country follow very stringent standards compared to other parts of the world.
But raw egg yolk's prominent place in Japanese cuisine isn't the only reason Bayashi uses the ingredient. He is, after all, a social media star, and the yolks drive ever-important engagement with his content. As he put it, the yolks are "surprising for people overseas who are not used to them. The comments section generates both pros and cons of the ingredients, which leads to a buzz." It probably doesn't hurt that the oozing yolks look mesmerizing on camera too.
Follow Bayashi on TikTok to stay up-to-date with his content. You can also visit his website to learn more.