Omurice

Simply put, omurice is just rice omelet or fried rice encased in crepe-like scrambled egg- supposedly, but I get carried away at times and end up with a somewhat thicker rendition which is not bad anyway, IMO. It is a favorite quick fix when I'm kind of tired of eating the same thing over and over again or when I don't have time or too tired or somewhat lazy to whip up something else.

When I tasted my first omurice in Japan, I was impressed and wondered how a simple omelet can be so tasty. It had chicken pieces and the rice is reddish with a tomato-y-, a little sweet - a little tangy taste which I found out came from ketchup and tomato sauce. The shape is so perfect and I thought I can’t replicate it on the fly- I would probably need hours and waste a lot of eggs to come up with something like that. Indeed my first omurice didn't look pretty at all. It looked like a regular omelet. 

Later on I realized it doesn't have to look perfect as long as the taste is close to perfection. How do you define perfection by the way? I think it's a matter of preference and taste- to each his own taste buds although I'm lucky to have such appreciative people around who seem to share the same affinity to food and with taste buds that are somehow in sync with mine. I think perfect is when you smile after a first bite;  close your eyes to savor it even more- and then you feel like you don't want to stop eating it but you know you have to at some point. And I couldn't care less if my food is not restaurant-pretty; I'll just make it really delish-y!

Anyway, my omurice has evolved through the years- from the simple chicken and tomato ketchup flavored fried rice filling, I now pack it with veggies like carrots, bell peppers, corn, onions, green peas and chicken or chopped Spam. Although omurice now comes in different flavors, the tomato ketchup is still an integral part of mine because I need that sweet and tangy sauce to give that additional pop to the rice dish and no way am I having omurice without it.

OMURICE

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped carrots

1/3 cup green peas    

1/3 cup corn (optional)

1 cup chicken meat diced (leftover rotisserie chicken or Spam will do)

1 tbsp chicken flavoring

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp granulated garlic powder

3 cups steamed white rice

Canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat

Brown chicken pieces or Spam then add chopped onion and sauté until translucent

Add chicken flavoring, granulated garlic powder and freshly cracked black pepper

Add carrots and bell pepper and sauté for a minute

Add green peas and sauté for another minute

Add rice and stir fry together

Taste if seasoning needs to be adjusted

Transfer to a big bowl and set aside

Wipe the same pan with paper towel and pour two tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Pour beaten eggs and swirl to coat the pan

Spoon fried rice in the middle of the omelet and fold the right side over the rice ending with the left.  Slide the omelet into a serving plate and using a paper towel, you can shape it like a football or just serve as it is.  Serve with tomato ketchup on top.

I have the toy-like omurice mold I bought from Daiso so my omurice came out plump like this.  

With Spam Lite and Veggies