Omuraisu (Omelette Rice)

Ahh, omuraisu (omelette rice). Basically this is in every family restaurant, and Japan actually has restuarants dedicated solely to the preparation of omuraisu. The best one I've tasted was in Ehime, when Steff and I went to go see L'Arc~en~Ciel in concert. They had sizes based on how many eggs they put in....something like 3 egg, 4, egg, or 6 egg omuraisu. How's that for puny Japanese sizes!

I don't think that there is really an exact science to getting that lovely chicken ketchup fried rice into a neat little mound and surrounding it with a perfectly cooked fluffy yellow exterior. It's pretty simple in composition. And well, while you can't really mess up omuraisu, some do taste better than others. Department store omuraisu, usually tastes like family restaurant omuraisu. Okay, probably a little bland, but not bad--a safe bet if you don't know anything else on the menu. I always thought of it as more of a children's and young people food, but it's very versatile, so even old people and women will indulge in it. I've seen it with everything from curry rice, extra onions, and pork to cheese and tonkatsu sauce. The version Steff and I used to make was the poor college student version--bare bones, but still very flavorful. The recipe for one person/serving is as follows:

1 pack of instant microwave rice (or about 1 scoop of leftover rice per serving)

1/4 round onion, chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten with 2 T. milk

1/4 cup cooked chopped leftover chicken breast or 4-5 pre-cooked chicken nuggets

oil

salt & pepper

1 T. oyster sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

1. Saute the onions in a frying pan in a bit of oil.
2. When the onions turn transparent, throw in the chicken and saute until cooked. (about 2 minutes)
3. Dump the rice in and incorporate into chicken-onion saute.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and about a tablespoon of oystersauce per serving.
5. Add the ketchup in and cook for about a minute more. This is a quick fried rice, no need to overdo the cooking.
6. Set the fried rice aside.
7. Take scrambled egg mixture and pour it into another heated greased skillet. Start loosening the sides slightly and when eggs are no longer runny (i.e. half cooked), place fried rice mixture in the middle and fold over sides to make an omelette.
8. Turn over onto plate with egg side up.
9. Drizzle or decorate with ketchup and you've got a meal in less than 15 minutes!

I love omuraisu. Steff and I have this and college student okonomiyaki down pat. Sure you can add all sorts of fancy things. I love cheese mixed in with the fried rice with my omuraisu, but it's sort of like tomato soup. Pairs with a lot of different things--very flexible when it comes to experimentation, but yummy just by itself.