Omurice, 蛋包飯 or Japanese Omelette

Just two more days till Thanksgiving! Are you excited? Do you know what feast you will be cookin’?

I was cleaning all day yesterday to make the house presentable for Thanksgiving in case any friend comes visit. From laundry to bathroom washing, scrapping sticky spots in the kitchen to vacuuming the entire house (luckily, the house is small). With all the time spent on cleaning, I wanted to stir up something quick for dinner. It had been a while since I last turned on the stove. November is a month full of birthday dinners. I felt ecstatic to be back.

Fried rice is a quick and easy dinner. I say that because fried rice works with all kind of ingredients. It’s the ultimate dish to use up leftover vegetables, meat, and rice in the fridge. To fancy it up, I made omurice.

Omurice (オムライス), is a contemporary Japanese fusion dish, originated in the 90s at a western style restaurant in Tokyo. The dish mainly consists of an omelette made with fried rice and usually topped with ketchup. You could also order this dish at a Taiwanese restaurant. The fried rice might be a Chinese variation. Which is one of the reasons why this dish is fantastic to make at home; Thai fried rice is an excellent choice. Spanish fried rice (which is Paella) is doable. Indian fried rice…might not work so well.

It’s fun to make. It’s fun to eat. And guarantee, kids will LOVE (anything with ketchup, right?)!

Look for my future post, omurice with curry sauce is on the menu!

Omurice, 蛋包飯 or Japanese Omelette
Serving: 6
Ingredients:
2 cup rice, cooked and let cool
3/4 lb chicken breast, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small carrot, cut in 1/4-inch cubes
2 stalks of Hokio mushroom (any desired kind of mushroom), cut in 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp oil, plus more if needed
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp pon soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
ketchup
grape tomatoes and cucumber as garnish (optional)

Egg Wrapper
12 eggs
4 tbsp heavy cream

Preparation:
Season the chicken with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Set aside.

Heat a large pan with oil on medium high heat. Stir fry chicken until white, or tender. Place in a big bowl and set aside.

Place the pan back in the heat. Add oil. Stir fry garlic and onion until tender (not brown), about 5 minutes. Place in bowl with chicken. Repeat procedure with carrots, mushroom, and peas. Set aside the mixture.

Turn the heat down to medium. Pour 1/2 tbsp of oil to the pan. Pour in rice. Stir and separate clumps. Add in mirin and soy sauce. Stir and combine. Add meat mixture and freshly ground pepper. Combine and remove from heat.

Heat a separate pan on medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, cream, and pinch of salt together until egg white is well combined. Add oil. Pour 1/6 of egg mixture evenly over the pan. Swivel the pan to get desire size. Cook until the bottom side turns yellow, not brown. Carefully flip over and cook until done. Place it on a plate.

Scoop rice onto one-half of egg wrapper neatly. Fold the other half of egg wrapper over the fried rice. Squeeze ketchup on top of omelette in any desire shape or drawing. Sprinkle some freshly ground pepper. Serve.