Omurice (オムライス)

Japanese Omurice

Omurice is a popular modern Japanese dish that's a mashup of Western omelettes and Japanese fried rice, delighting Japanese palates of young and old alike. It's a favorite amongst kids and, therefore, a staple of home cooking here, but it can also be served a little fancier at Yōshoku restaurants (Western-style restaurants) in Japan.

Although every household makes it a little differently, the omelette is usually stuffed with chicken rice, which is fried Japanese short-grain rice that's made with chicken and seasoned with ketchup. This gives it a vibrant red color and savory-sweet taste, which is the trademark flavor of this dish.

As for the egg, classic styles of omurice were made into an oval shape or football shape and wrapped in a thin layer of egg; then, the smooth omelette surface was decorated with ketchup hearts or stars. But these days, many people ditch the thin, papery egg for a luscious blanket of soft scrambled eggs on top.

Jump to:

• Japanese Omurice
• Why My Recipe Works
• Japanese Omurice Components
• How to Make Omurice
• Recipe
• Omurice Recipe
• FAQ
• Comments

Japanese Omurice Components

Omurice is comprised of two main components, and can also be sauced. Here's what's inside each of them.

Chicken Rice

Although it's called "chicken rice," the primary seasoning is ketchup. This makes it the perfect sweet and tangy contrast to the creamy egg on top. For mine, I like using homemade ketchup because the spices make for a more interesting flavor profile, and it's a little less sweet than the store-bought stuff. That being said, if you're looking for that classic ketchup rice taste, the bottled stuff is the way to go. Many Japanese Omurice recipes add extra sugar on top of the sweetness of the ketchup, but I prefer mine more savory. On the flip side, if ketchup isn't your cup of tea, don't worry; you can make this omurice recipe using any kind of fried rice like Yakimeshi, Kimchi Fried Rice, Curry Fried Rice, or Japanese Garlic Rice.

I almost always advocate using skin on chicken thighs over breast meat; this is one of the rare exceptions where I feel like breast meat works better. Just be careful not to overcook the chicken pieces or they will get tough. You could also replace the chicken with another protein like tofu or ground beef. 

Other than that, I like to brown some onions (or garlic) to get a little more flavor into the dish. I also add some oyster sauce as a more flavorful alternative to soy sauce; this helps balance out the tanginess of the ketchup with plenty of umami. Some people also like to add other vegetables to their chicken rice like carrots, peas, or bell peppers, which is fine, but I think they're unnecessary unless you're trying to get your kids to eat more vegetables.

Omelette

The omelette is more about the cooking technique than the ingredients, but I like to use eggs with very vivid yolks for their golden yellow hue. Butter imparts extra flavor, and I also add a bit of cream, which ups the richness to balance out the acidity of the rice. A pinch of salt lifts the flavors, but if you're really looking for something over-the-top, try adding some grated cheese to the eggs.

Sauce

Although Japanese omelette rice is usually just decorated on the surface with ketchup, it's sometimes also served with a more flavorful sauces such as the sauce from Hayashi Rice (Omuhayashi - オムハヤシ) or Japanese Curry (Omukarei - オムカレー), or Meat Sauce (Omumeato - オムミート). For the last one, you could even change up the filling and make it with spaghetti with meat sauce, which turns it into Omusupa (オムスパ). As you can see, there are a lot of creative variations here.

How to Make Omurice

Make the fried rice

Making chicken rice is pretty straightforward and only requires a few minutes of prep time. I start by marinating the chicken pieces in a bit of regular soy sauce to ensure they're well-seasoned. Then I brown some onions before throwing the chicken in and stir-frying it. The trick to having tender chicken in your omelette rice is to add the Japanese short-grain rice before the chicken is fully cooked through. I usually go in with it as soon as I can't see any raw edges on the chicken, just a few minutes after I start cooking it. This gives you plenty of time to get the cooked rice nice and caramelized without turning the chicken chewy. Once it's heated through, I add the ketchup and oyster sauce and stir-fry until the tangy sauces start caramelizing. This should take 2 to 3 minutes. Season with black pepper, and then you can load the savory chicken rice into a mold and invert it onto a plate. I usually leave the mold on the plate to help keep the rice warm for the time it takes to make the omelette.

Make the omelette

The omelette may seem intimidating, but this technique makes it possible for anyone to make Kichi Kichi omurice.

Add the eggs, cream, and a pinch of salt to a bowl and beat the mixture until uniform in texture and color. I like using wooden chopsticks, but a whisk or fork will also work.

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat (this is a must to get the egg cleanly out of the pan). Once the butter has melted, add the egg mixture and give it a few seconds to set up at the bottom. Then, gently scramble them with chopsticks while shaking the pan, which redistributes the uncooked egg as you break up the curds. This gives the mixture an even, fluffy texture. I usually take the omelette off the heat once there are no big pools of raw egg left, as carryover cooking will continue thickening the remaining egg into a rich, creamy sauce. Before you take the pan off the stove, blast it on high heat for a few seconds. This will vaporize any liquid between the egg and the pan, loosening the edges and making the egg easily slide out of the pan.

Decorate the Omurice

Although soft scrambled eggs aren't quite a smooth omelette surface to paint on, you can still create fun shapes, like stripes, hearts, stars, or faces using additional ketchup in a squeeze bottle. Or you can just add a drizzle of ketchup on top, like I did. Omurice can also be served with a demi-glace sauce on top.

If you're a fan of omelettes, check out my Crab Omelette (Kanitama), my Niratama (ニラ玉), and my Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelette) and Dashimaki Tamago recipes. Also, who doesn't like melty chocolate? Give my Molten Chocolate Omelette a try the next time a chocolate craving hits.

FAQ

What is Omurice?

Omurice (オムライス), or Omuraisu as it's pronounced in Japan, is a portmanteau of "Omelette" and "Rice." It's unclear where the dish originated, but Omurice is considered yōshoku (Western food) in Japan. It was probably created around the turn of the last century when Western-style restaurants became popular.

What is Yōshoku?

Yōshoku (洋食) means "Western-style food" in Japanese, and it refers to a sub-genre of Japanese cuisine modeled on food from the West. Although these dishes are considered Western in Japan, many do not exist outside of Japan. Some examples include curry rice, hamburg steak, and Hayashi rice. In a way, Yōshoku is like the Japanese analog to American-style sushi such as spicy tuna rolls and California rolls.

How do you pronounce Omurice?

Omurice is a 5-syllable word that's pronounced as follows:

o like order

mu like move

ra -the "ra" sound does not exist in the English language and the best way to make it is to say the word "romp" with the tip of your tongue at the front of your mouth.

i like even

su like soup