Japanese Omelette Rice

Omurice | Japanese Omelette Rice | オムライス

AUGUST 14, 2012

by NAMI

I’m back from my 2-week holiday and I really enjoyed my offline time with my family and our vacation to Southern California.  I even caught up with a lot of stuff that I procrastinated such as developing pictures and putting them into albums (yes I still print photos).  After I started blogging, many of not-so-important things got less attention as I spend my “free” night time just for blogging.  As my children’s activities have increased, it has became even more challenging for me to do everything I want in a 24-hour day.  I’m really happy to be back and I will need a couple of days to catch up on everything as usual, but hopefully I’ll get back in to the swing of things soon.

Today’s recipe is Omurice, or Japanese Omelette Rice.  I received a lot of requests from readers for this recipe and I was a bit surprised how popular this dish is.  At most Japanese restaurants we have in the Bay Area, Omurice is not even on the menu, but I think this dish is pretty well-known and popular in Asian countries outside of Japan.

Omurice is a popular contemporary Japanese fusion creation blending Western omelette and Japanese fried rice. It’s usually enjoyed at home but also can be found at many Western food diners in Japan. When there is leftover rice, it’s a perfect single plate meal to prepare the next day.

The rice is usually pan-fried with ketchup and chicken, then wrapped in a thin sheet of egg omelette. From preparation to completion only takes a quick 20 minutes. It’s one of my children’s favorite meals with fried rice, eggs, and lots of ketchup.

The softly-cooked omelette and sweet tomato-flavored rice complements each other very well, so I hope you will enjoy this quick and easy recipe!

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Omurice | Japanese Omelette Rice Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 chicken thigh
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup mixed vegetables, defrosted
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup cooked Japanese rice
• 1 Tbsp. Ketchup and more for decoration
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
Omelette (per person)
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil (per person)
• 3 Tbsp. cheese (your favorite cheese)

Instructions:

1. Chop the onion finely.

2. Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil on a non-stick skillet and start sautéing the onion.

4. Once the onion is soft, add chicken and cook until no longer pink.

5. Add mixed vegetables and salt and pepper.

6. Add the rice and break into small pieces.

7. Add Ketchup and soy sauce and mix well. Transfer the rice to a plate and wash the skillet.

8. Whisk the egg and milk in a small bowl.

9. Heat the non-stick skillet on medium high and apply a layer of oil GENEROUSLY with oil-soaked paper towel. You need to make sure that oil is nicely applied in order to slide the egg off the pan later on.

10. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet when the surface of the skillet is hot. Quickly swirl the egg mixture around the pan and lower the heat as soon as the egg mixture is half solid.

11. Put the cheese and the fried rice mixture on top.

12. Use the spatula to fold both side toward the middle and shift the pan to move the omurice to the edge of the skillet.

13. Hold the serving plate in one hand, skillet in the other hand and flip.

14. While it’s hot, shape up the Omurice with paper towel (otherwise it’ll be too hot!).

15. Continue making another set(s) of omelette until you’ve used up all the chicken fried rice. Decorate the Omurice with Ketchup. Serve immediately.

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Enjoy!