Often a favourite dish among Japanese children, Omurice is a simple, yet super tasty dish.
What is Omurice?
In general, Japanese people consider Omurice to be a western dish because of the use of egg, but it is actually a very Japanese concept. ‘Omurice’ literally means ‘Omelette rice’ in Japanese. There are many variations of this tasty dish and it is a hit with the kids. Classic Omurice is made from chicken rice and cut up vegetables all stir-fried together. Once the Omelette has been laid on top of the dish, it is heavily doused in ketchup.
History of Omurice
Omurice was born in the year 1900 at a famous Western-style restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo called Renga-tei. At the time, the idea of the dish was to create something that could be easily eaten with only one hand while working in a busy kitchen. Eggs are considered to be a new food addition to the Japanese kitchen, as eating eggs wasn’t really acceptable by strict Buddhist standards. However, during the Edo period, Japan opened its borders and ports, allowing westerners in and with that came the influence of western food and cooking.
Popular types of Omurice
As mentioned earlier, there are many different variations of Omurice. Some of the most popular are: Classic, Omusoba, and Omutako.
The classic – is the original Omurice. It consists of chicken rice and vegetables stir-fried, with an egg Omelette placed on top with however much ketchup you feel like! Many chefs have even started decorating the dish with the ketchup and writing special messages with it.
Omusoba – is more of a ‘fast food’ Omurice favourite among Japanese people. It is a snack made from stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and pork. This dish uses yakisoba instead of rice.
Omutako – when a Mexican style taco and Omelette had a baby, the result was Omutako! In Okinawa, there is a popular dish called Taco Rice which is the fillings of a traditional Mexican taco, laid over rice and covered with an egg Omelette.
You can also cook your own Omurice and get creative and experimental. Add meat if you wish – pork, beef, fried hot dogs, the choices are endless. You can flavour the rice with salt and pepper or beef stock or a white cream sauce.
Where to find Omurice in Singapore
There are lots of restaurants and cafes in Singapore that serve yummy Omurice. Check out Yellow Gourmet Omurice Cafe and OMU Delivery. They both serve Omurice at a moderate price and are rated highly on foodpanda.
Picture credits: https://pickledplum.com/omurice-japanese-omelet-recipe/
