When I pulled out my copy of Lucky Peach’s 101 Asian Recipes the other night, I intended to make the Malaysian “Economy Noodles” as I said I would at the end of my cookbook review. However, I ran into a problem: My enormous tub of Asian noodles (I have a similar one of European-style pasta) did not contain thin rice noodles. I had wide rice noodles and a dozen kinds of wheat noodles, but no rice vermicelli. And it was too late to run to the store for any.
So, having discovered necessity, I flipped through the book searching for invention. And found it, in the form of one of the silliest-sounding recipes I’ve ever seen: Omurice.
Japanese food has a reputation for being elegant, sophisticated, delicate, subtle. But Japan has poor college students too, and tired workers looking for a quick meal, and harried moms who haven’t had a chance to buy groceries. And once upon a time, one of those folks looked into their refrigerator and saw nothing but a tub of day-old rice, a single egg, and a bottle of ketchup. That practical, whimsical person invented Omurice: An omelet stuffed with ketchup-flavored fried rice, alluringly enrobed in still more ketchup. (The word, of course, is a portmanteau of “omelet” and “rice”: a Western-style omelet with a decidedly non-Western filling.)
Okay, you. I see you shuddering. Ketchup on eggs? That’s the terrible thing Grandpa does. But seriously, Grandpa may know something we don’t.
Actually, I told Arne, as we were both giggling in delight over this weird dinner, that I’d never been a ketchup-on-eggs person. He laughed at me. That’s right, laughed at me. And he said, “What about fried egg sandwiches?” To which I had no answer, because while I don’t use much ketchup as a rule, I love my fried-egg sandwiches absolutely drenched in the stuff.
First attempt. Not so pretty.
While I stand by the idea that you could make Omurice with nothing but rice, egg, and ketchup, this version adds a few more elements for flavor and color: onion, peas, and a protein of your choice. The cookbook called for chicken; I used shrimp because it was veggie week. I also threw in some sliced mushrooms, because I had a few kicking around the crisper. Like fried rice in general, Omurice is a perfect place to use up those odds and ends in the refrigerator.
The one place I had trouble with this recipe was the egg itself. The recipe calls for one egg per omelet, cooked in an 8-inch skillet. This makes for a very thin and delicate sheet of egg. You’re going to smother it with ketchup anyway, so you can cover up flaws, but you could also easily add more egg to make it easier to handle. Two eggs per omelet would be fine. Use a nonstick pan that still has a good coating, too, not an old ratty one like I did. Also, unless you have an enormous spatula to move it with, it is much easier to move the egg to a plate and stuff the rice into it there than to try to stuff the omelet in the skillet and then move it. The rice goes everywhere when you try that (see the picture above).
Second attempt. Better. Throw some ketchup on there and all will be well.
Japanese Fried Rice Omelet (Omurice)
Notes
You can make the rice for several omelets simultaneously, but like any omelet the individual servings of Omurice must be completed one by one.
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 2 ounces chicken, shrimp, mushroom, or tofu, in bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup minced onion or scallion
- 1 cup cold cooked rice (any kind is fine, including brown)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons ketchup, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons thawed frozen peas
- 1 or 2 eggs
- 1/2 tablespoon butter or oil
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and chicken or mushrooms or other sturdy proteins if using. Saute until the onion is cooked and the protein nearly so, about 5 minutes. If using shrimp or another delicate or pre-cooked protein, add when the onion is mostly done so it can just warm through.
- Stir in the rice, crumbling clumps as necessary and tossing to combine the ingredients and heat through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if you like.
- Push the rice to the side of the skillet. Dump the ketchup into the cleared space and stir it around for a minute or so to caramelize. Mix the rice and ketchup until combined, then stir in the peas and set the pan aside over low heat.
- Set an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the oil or butter. While it heats, scramble the egg lightly with a pinch of salt. When the skillet is hot, spread the oil evenly and then add the egg, tilting the pan to let it spread from side to side. If you've added extra egg, lift the edges as they cook and tilt the pan to let egg get under and contact the hot pan.
- When the egg is cooked (the top should still be moist and will cook a bit more when the hot rice hits it), slide it onto a serving plate. Cover half the egg with all the rice, then fold egg over to form a classic omelet shape. Top with as much more ketchup as you like. Devour.
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