How To Make Tim Anderson’s Omurice

AKA seasoned rice topped with an omelette – and ketchup!

Posted on

13 March 2019

All Credits: PA

“Omurice combines three of my all-time favourite comfort foods into one wonderful dish: Eggs, fried rice and ketchup. It’s so simple yet so satisfying, a perfect package of protein, fat and carbs, so cheap and easy to make, and yet so beautiful I’m actually getting a bit teary-eyed just thinking about it,” says chef and cookbook author, Tim Anderson.

“Omurice is a dish that says, ‘I want you to feel full and content, I want you to get plenty of calories so you grow big and strong, and I want to put a smile on your face, because I love you.’ There are restaurants in Tokyo (and probably home cooks) who have applied cheffy techniques to refine omurice, cooking the omelette just so and serving it with demi-glace and that sort of thing.

“But really, omurice doesn’t need careful cooking or fine-dining embellishments to make it delicious. In fact, to me that’s really the whole point of omurice. Just about anybody can make it, and it will always be delicious even at its most basic.”

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Today was an #omurice kind of day. #omelette #rice #omeletterice #オムライス

A post shared by Tim Anderson (@cheftimanderson) on Oct 31, 2018 at 1:38pm PDT

Ingredients:

(Makes 1 big omurice enough for 1 hungry person, or 2 not-that-hungry persons, or 2 hungry persons who are also eating other things, like miso soup and salad and whatnot)

30g butter
1 banana shallot or small onion, diced
60g shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and diced
1 chicken thigh, boneless and skinless, cut into 1cm cubes (optional)
300g cooked rice (from 150g uncooked; rice that has been chilled in the fridge works best)
Ketchup, to taste, plus extra to serve
Soy sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 eggs, beaten with 1 tbsp double cream (optional)

Method:

1. Melt half of the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, then sauté the shallot or onion until translucent. Add the shiitake and the chicken (if using) and sauté until the mushrooms soften and the chicken is cooked through.

2. Add the rice, breaking up any clumps, and stir in the ketchup, soy sauce, salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat, then tip in the beaten eggs and season with a little salt.

4. Cook the egg until set on the bottom but still runny on top, then gently fold the eggs over themselves so the runny bit is now in the middle. Scoop the fried rice into a mound on a plate, then tip the omelette onto the top of the rice. Serve with more ketchup, if you like.

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I’m so excited to officially announce my new cookbook, TOKYO STORIES, will be released on 7 March, 2019! This is a book of recipes and stories from the (under)ground up, including food from Tokyo’s subway stations, streets, home kitchens and skyscrapers. There are conbini classics like katsu sando and onigiri all the way up to modern cuisine and cocktails. The photography by @nassimarothacker is truly gorgeous and the design by @evi_o is spectacular. I’m very proud of this book and I really hope you all enjoy it. Link in bio to preorder! #tokyostories #tokyostoriescookbook #japanesefood #japanesecooking #japanesehomecooking #cookbook #tokyo #tokyogourmet #tokyofood

A post shared by Tim Anderson (@cheftimanderson) on Nov 21, 2018 at 4:04am PST