Omurice

Omurice is one of Japan’s iconic comfort foods but it also has a level of difficulty that elevates it from a regular fried rice dish. But don’t be afraid! This recipe is my attempt at recreating an iconic dish that deserves all of the hype. The result is a milky omelet that coats the ketchup fried rice like a warm blanket on a rainy day. Hope you enjoy the process and result as much as I do!

Ready in: 25 - 45 minutes (prep and clean for 5-25 min and cook for 20 min)

Serves: 1 person

Difficulty: easy/intermediate

Ingredients

Fried rice

• 2-3 stalks of chopped green onion or scallion

• ¼ finely chopped white onion

• 1 egg

• ½ cup of a protein of your choice (I finely sliced 1 strip of bacon)

• 1 serving of day-old rice (short grain is preferred)

• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

• A medium-sized (non-stick) pan

• Canola oil

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons of ketchup

• A serving bowl and plate

Omelet

• Cooking oil

• 6 eggs

• ⅓ cup milk

• ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

• One 8 inch pan (non-stick is the best)

Cooking steps

Part 1: The Fried rice

1. Mix 1 egg into your rice and make sure each grain is coated with the egg

2. Heat up a pan to medium-high

3. Add oil to the pan once it is hot

4. Throw in the bacon and quickly move it around the pan because it will cook very quickly.

5. Add the white onion when the bacon turns a darker pink color

6. Sautée aka mix the bacon and onion around the pan until the onion turns translucent.

7. Once the onion is translucent, add in the egg and rice mixture.

8. Mix the egg rice, onion, and bacon for a couple minutes (toss it a couple times if you are a pro chef!)

9. Add the green onions and mix for about 1 more minute

10. Add soy sauce and ketchup (optional: add 2 tablespoons of sake)

11. Mix for a couple more minutes

12. Add as much salt and black pepper as you want (WARNING: make sure you taste in between so you don’t make it too salty or peppery!!!)

13. Give a final mixy mix (about a minute)

14. Put into a bowl (but don’t push it in too hard!)

15. Once the fried rice is pressed lightly into the bowl, put a plate on top of the bowl, flip it, and carefully remove the bowl from the perfect little mound of fried rice that the omelette will sit on later!!

16. Add as much salt and black pepper as you want (WARNING: make sure you taste in between so you don’t make it too salty or peppery!!!)

17. Give a final mixy mix (about a minute)

18. Put into a bowl (but don’t push it in too hard!)

19. Once the fried rice is pressed lightly into the bowl, put a plate on top of the bowl, flip it, and carefully remove the bowl from the perfect little mound of fried rice that the omelette will sit on later!!

Part 2: The Omelette

1. Whisk 700 grams eggs

2. Strain

3. Add 70 grams of cream and 70 grams of milk

4. Mix

5. Let it rest for a couple minutes

6. Heat up the non-stick pan and coat the surface with a nice layer of canola oil to prevent any stick from happening

7. The next few steps are time sensitive so read them thoroughly and know exactly what to do to make the perfect omelette.

8. Pour in two ladles of the egg mixture and immediately mix with chopsticks.

9. Shake the pan away and towards you as you circle your chopsticks all around the pan in the eggs.

10. Occasionally tap the pan against the stove and your chopsticks to keep the egg from sticking to the pan.

11. Once you see the toro-toro texture that is perfect for the slightly runny omelette, use your chopsticks to scrap the egg from the sides and slightly fold them towards the center.

12. Once you got all around the pan, tilt the pan a bit and scrape and roll the egg from the top of the tilted pan 2/3s of the way towards the bottom of the pan.

13. Once folded (doesn't have to be perfect), you are going to lift the pan off the stove, keep the slight tilt, and tap the forearm of the arm holding the pan with the opposite arm to tap the egg, like we did earlier against the stove and chopsticks (this will fold your egg via food physics).

14. Once slightly folded on the opposite side, fold from the side of the omelette that is facing the top side of the pan and gently roll it towards the bottom again.

15. Once the omelette is closed it looks a little wrinkled but that is fine, because you are going to flip the omelette one last time and it should look smoother and like a yellow calzone

16. Roll it gently off the pan and on top of your fried rice

17. Put as much ketchup as you want on top or make a fun design and serve/enjoy!

Tips:

• To heat up a non-stick pan to a high heat, heat up the pan on its own before adding cooking oil to the pan. This prevents smoke and minimizes stickiness once you put in your ingredients!

• Coating each grain of rice with egg prevents clumping when cooking the rice and adds flavor!

• TIP FOR 21+ PEOPLE ONLY (even though the alcohol gets cooked away). If you have sake, add a couple tablespoons of it when adding soy sauce to the fried rice. It adds a very nice ~flavor~ to the dish and makes it a 20/10 dish.