Omurice Japan Recipe

Omurice, omelet rice, is ketchup fried rice wrapped with a crepe-like thinly fried egg.  Doesn’t sound like Japanese food, does it?  Omurice is a “western style” dish created in Japan in the early 1900s.  For over 100 years, Omurice has been a very popular food for people of all ages, especially kids.

Omurice is often served at western style Japanese restaurants where Hamburger Steaks and Curry and Rice are also on the menu.  Today, there are omelet specialty restaurants in Japan, and they have a lot of different and elaborate kinds of Omurice.  Omurice can be covered with cream sauce or demi-glace brown sauce, while basic Omurice is usually finished with ketchup.   At restaurants recently, more eggs are used and the trend seems to be for the eggs to be soft and runny, although more traditional Omurice egg is cooked very thin.

Ketchup fried rice may sound a little strange, but it is more like tomato pilaf.  The typical meat used in Omurice is chicken fried in butter which has an aroma that makes this dish taste western.  However, you could use ground beef, shrimp or anything you like.

We put rice and eggs together separately because it may be a little easier, although many people wrap rice with eggs in a frying pan.  Do whichever works for you.  It tastes great either way!

Ingredients

• 1 chicken thigh
• 1 small onion
• 1Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp oil
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pepper
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 1/4 cup frozen green peas
egg crepe
• 2 eggs
• salt
• 1 tsp oil

Instructions

1. Cut chicken thigh into 1" pieces. Cut onion finely.
2. Melt butter and add oil in a frying pan at medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add onion and cook until onion becomes translucent.
3. Add cooked rice and cook mixing for 2 minutes. Season rice with salt and pepper. Make room in the frying pan and add ketchup. Cook only ketchup for 30 seconds to cook it down. Mix rice and ketchup and fry together for 1-2 minutes. Then add frozen peas and cook some more.
4. Place half of the ketchup rice into a rice bowl or similar kind of bowl, pack lightly, and unmold on a plate. Make another one.
5. Beat eggs and a pinch of salt together. Heat frying pan with 1/2 tsp oil. Pour 1/2 of egg mixture onto hot frying pan and make a crepe-like thin round egg sheet. Cover molded rice with egg sheet to form an oval shape. Repeat one more time.