One of my favorite foreign films is Tampopo, a hilariously fun “ramen western.” The main storyline focuses on the quest to make the best ramen with bizarre food-related vignettes imbedded throughout the movie. One of my favorite scenes is when a vagabond sneaks into a restaurant kitchen and makes a perfectly cooked omurice (Japanese rice omelet) for a young boy. You can tell the vagabond was a skilled cook by the way he maneuvered the scrambled egg in a pan. Tampopo Omurice Clip. After watching that scene I wanted omurice so badly, I went into the kitchen made my own.

Although omurice originated in Japan, Koreans have adopted this breakfast dish and many Korean home cooks make the dish for their children. This rice omelet is so popular with Korean kids, in fact, there’s even a childhood song about it. So what is in omurice, you ask? The main ingredient is cooked rice, but the condiment that gives the rice a reddish hue is ketchup. I know the recipe sounds weird, but trust me, it’s pretty good and kids love it. My recipe has soy sauce to temper the tartness of the ketchup and sautéed shiitake mushrooms for more savory notes. You’ll get sweet, sour, salted and umami flavors in one bite. The trickiest part of this dish is making the perfectly football-shaped egg omelet, or you can fry the egg-like crepe and drape it over the rice instead. Either way it’s delicious! Enjoy!

Chicken and Mushroom Omurice

Serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons of sunflower oil or other neutral oil (used in two steps)
1/4 cup of chopped onion, small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces of fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup of chopped roasted red bell pepper
2 tablespoons of organic ketchup*
1 tablespoon of organic soy sauce*
2 teaspoons of Maggi or 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar
3 cups of cooked short-grain rice
6 ounces of chopped, marinated, and cooked chicken (recipe below)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh cooked peas or frozen peas
Freshly grated black pepper
8 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1/2 cup of omurice sauce (recipe below)

1. Heat a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Then add the chopped onion and sauté for about 2 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms and the garlic to the wok and sauté for 3 more minutes or until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the chopped red bell pepper and sauté for one more minute.

3. Next, add the ketchup, soy sauce, Maggi, and brown sugar to the wok. Stir well. Cook the sauce until it starts to bubble.

4. At the cooked rice. Stir to coat the sauce over the rice. Add the cooked chicken and stir well for about 1 minute.

5. Finally, add the chopped green onions and peas and stir until they are evenly distributed into the rice mixture. Taste for seasoning to see if it needs salt or pepper. Turn off the heat and cover the rice to keep warm while making the omelet.

6. Heat a 6-inch nonstick pan on medium heat. Add a 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Add some beaten eggs to the pan, just enough to coat the entire pan (this will be about 2 eggs or 6 tablespoons)

7. Now you have to work quickly. Once the eggs start to cook on the bottom, quickly tilt the pan away from. Start folding the egg using your wrist to create an omelet that resembles a football. You want the center to be runny.

8. Place a mound of omurice rice mixture, the same size has the omelet, on a plate. Carefully placed the omelet on the mound of rice.

9. Spoon some sauce on top of the omelet and sprinkle with some chopped green onions. Make 3 more omelets. Serve with Japanese pickles.

 

Marinated Chicken for Omurice

2 chicken tenders (about 6-7 ounces), chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sake
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of organic cornstarch*
1 teaspoon of sunflower oil.

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let marinate for 20 minutes.

2. Heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the marinated chicken in one layer. Leave undisturbed for about one minute.

3. Flip the chicken over and cook for another 30 seconds.

4. Quickly sauté for about 1 more minute. Transfer to a bowl and set aside for the omurice recipe.

 

Omurice Sauce

1/2 cups of organic ketchup*
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of mirin
1 teaspoon of organic soy sauce*
1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder

1. Place all the ingredients in a small nonreactive sauce pan. Stir well breaking up the brown sugar.

2. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until the sauce starts to bubble.

3. Turn off heat and cover with a lid until ready to use.
*If at all possible, try to use organic corn-based or soy-based products. Most of the corn syrup, cornstarch, and soy products sold in the stores are GMO.