Omurice (Japanese Ketchup Chicken Rice with Soft Omelette)
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
Day-old rice toasted in batches, tossed with chicken, onion, carrot and ketchup, moulded into domes and covered with a softly set omelette. Finished with a zigzag of ketchup.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Toast the rice. Break the cold rice into separate grains with your fingers. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the pan over high heat and stir-fry half the rice for about 3 min until lightly toasted, then set aside and repeat with the rest. Working in batches keeps the pan hot, so the rice fries rather than steams.
- 2
Cook the chicken. Add 2 tbsp oil to the pan and fry the onion and carrot for 3 min until they start to brown. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 min, stirring, until cooked through (74 °C).
- 3
Coat with ketchup. Return all the rice, add the ketchup thinned with the water and toss until every grain is glossy and evenly red. Stir through the spring onion and pepper.
- 4
Mould. Pack half the rice into the small bowl and turn it out onto a plate as a neat dome. Repeat with the rest on the second plate.
- 5
Make the omelettes. Wipe out the pan and heat half the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Pour in half the beaten eggs with the salt and stir rapidly while shaking the pan for 1-2 min, until softly set but still glossy, then spread into a round and slide it over a rice dome. Repeat, then finish each with a zigzag of ketchup.
Storage
Best eaten straight away. The ketchup rice keeps in the fridge for 2 days; reheat until piping hot (74 °C) and make the omelette fresh. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- 25 cm non-stick or carbon-steel frying pan
- flexible spatula
- small heatproof bowl (about 400 ml)
- 2 serving plates
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 813 kcal |
| Protein | 28.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 69.2 g |
| of which sugars | 13.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 47.2 g |
| of which saturates | 6.4 g |
| Fibre | 3.4 g |
| Salt | 1.62 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
