JAPANESE RICE OMELETTE
A fun dish to have and make. This was one of the first Japanese dishes I made. When you go to restaurants in Japan you would not even notice this dish in their menus. Although must warn you once you have a bite of this dish, it will become your forever favorite.
This dish is probably the best egg preparation I have ever had. It is usually a casual home food that you make for dinner. The first time I had it we wrote our names on top of the final dish, which was fun (Decorating on the smooth egg blanket is a fun game with kids and adults). It is a fun, quick, and delicious dish that is usually considered an all-time favorite kids food (although I am not a kid I love it). What can be better than fried rice, egg, and ketchup? Nothing right! That is why this is a dish to die for!
An egg a very important culinary ingredient and a very widely used ingredient worldwide, it is one of the basic things a chef gets introduced to first. You might feel what is so hard about making eggs? Trust me that is how I felt before I started to work at a professional level. Making a perfect egg and mastering all the types of egg preparations is a separate skill altogether. Omurice is a perfect example for this as the skill involved in folding a perfectly smooth omelette over rice, whether well done or soft centered is something you need will understand only by practice.
Japan has a lot of dishes involving egg and technique in the preparation of eggs. Tamagoyaki, Oyakodan, Chawanmushi, Sukiyaki, are just a few dishes in this category (do not worry these will be covered in upcoming posts).
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Omurice is a combination of two words, omelette and rice. And as the name suggests, it is exactly that. A simple dish of fried rice (usually chicken) and ketchup covered in a thin layer of egg. This dish does not have a Japanese origin rather it has been influenced by western culture. Such food influences are known as Yoshoku in Japanese. Before we go on about Omurice I think you should first understand yoshoku in detail (as it will pop up in upcoming posts).
YOSHOKU
Just like in all cultures Japan also has a lot of influence from other countries. These are categorized as two parts one is yoshoku 洋食, these are dishes with western influence and the other is washoku 和食, these are dishes with Japanese origin (will be explained in an upcoming post).
We all have dishes in each region you are from that are changed to suit our palates. Similarly, Yoshoku is nothing but western food reinvented the Japanese way. Japan was a very conservative and closed community for a very long time. They were not very open to outside people until the Meiji period. I will not go too much in detail but what you need to know is that after this there was the acceptance of foreign culture and food. this led to fusion in many areas one being food.
I noticed how close Japanese people are with their culture, customs, and food and I can see why it was so. This has kept their culture alive even today and even with the people who are so hardworking and friendly. It might take some time for you to gain their trust but once you learn to respect their ways and learn their language (very important to be able to have conversations with them as most of them speak only in Japanese), you will understand the beauty of their culture.
Coming back to yoshoku, like I was saying the Meiji period helped in Japan’s growth. Before this period Japanese had a ban on red meat (4 legged animals) and many restrictions as Buddhism and Shintoism considered this practice impure. The ban was lifted during this era and thus opening the market for western ideas and food. Beef and pork became quickly popular, so popular that when you go to japan today you may feel like this is part of their diet from ancient times. But it is a very recent addition to Japanese cuisine.
Yoshoku is a term that is used for any foreign cuisine irrespective of their origin. It was mainly created to differentiate it from washoku. Although these are recent additions to Japanese cuisine they are very popular among kids and at homes. This mainly because they are easy to make and are extremely tasty.
A CLASSIC OMURICE
A classic omurice usually has tangy ketchup fried rice with chicken, bacon, and any meat, sometimes even vegetables. Usually chicken is the meat used although other meats like bacon, tako (octopus) are used too.
Traditionally it was created as fried rice covered by a thin layer of the fully cooked omelette. The egg if made perfectly should not have any brown spots and must be smooth like a blanket over a baby, your baby being the rice here. Nowadays you have various variations like a soft-centered omelette, which is fancier as you cut through it. This is more dramatic in restaurants when the server cuts through it using a sharp knife revealing the gooey, runny egg that falls over the rice.
Ketchup again is a western influence but the combination is to die for. The rice is usually flavored with ketchup, salt, and pepper. Stock can also be used for more flavor. Mothers with kids who do not enjoy eating vegetables add them to the rice. the rice is covered in egg and flavored with yummy ketchup and chicken makes the kids not notice the vegetables or even better enjoy eating vegetables.
Rice can be replaced by yakisoba (something I love and will talk about in my upcoming posts), this is called omusoba. Similarly, the one with tako (octopus) in it is called omutako, you get the idea. You can also serve the omurice with some nice thick gravy, demi-glace or mayonnaise, which tastes equally good.
Omurice is a dish you get innovative with. Both the artist and chef in you come alive when you try this dish and experiment with it. The first time I made it I was making patterns and drawing on the egg using ketchup. I also tried making omurice inspired tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet). This dish has a really special place in my heart, as this is one of those many dishes that inspired me to be what I am today.
A dish I highly recommend all Japanese food lovers to try out. It is so easy and yummy that after you try it once you will end up making it again very soon.
Do Share your omurice experience below. If you have any thoughts and comments on the blog feel free to add it too.
A Long たまご.... 
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