Omurice
Ketchup-fried rice with chicken and onion, wrapped neatly in a soft, thin omelette rather than an omelette simply laid on top. A defining Yoshoku (Western-influenced Japanese) dish born from Japan's early-20th-century opening to Western food culture, with two well-documented competing origin claims: Ginza's Renga-tei around 1900, and Osaka's Hokkyokusei, credited around 1922 with the now-iconic ketchup-rice-wrapped-in-egg version.
Meat-optional
⚠ Contains: Egg, Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 300g cooked short-grain rice, day-old and cold
- 150g boneless chicken thigh, diced small
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 4 tbsp ketchup, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 tbsp butter, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Steps
- Melt 1 tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat and saute the onion until translucent, then add the diced chicken and cook until no longer pink.
- Add the rice, breaking up clumps, and stir-fry 2-3 minutes. Add the ketchup, salt, and pepper, and stir-fry another 2-3 minutes until the rice is evenly coated and slightly caramelized. Divide into two oval mounds and keep warm.
- Whisk 2 eggs with 1 tbsp milk and a pinch of salt per portion.
- Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in a small non-stick pan over medium heat, swirl to coat, pour in the egg mixture, and gently scramble briefly, then let it set into a thin, mostly-cooked omelette, still slightly soft on top.
- Slide the omelette onto a rice mound, centered, and use a cloth or paper towel to gently press and shape it into a neat oval, tucking the edges under the rice.
- Repeat for the second portion. Drizzle with a zigzag of ketchup, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.