Omurice!

      First, I'd like to say that I owe an apology to the Japanese and Ketchup!

      For anyone who has watched loads of anime and Japanese drama like I have, you most certainly have come across Omurice a number of times.

      I like food, and when I watch anime or J-drama, I'd get hungry at the sight of too many of the so delicious looking food they are eating had it been: ramen, takoyaki, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, sukiyaki, curry, buns…etc. However, one thing I never felt like eating was Omurice.

      I see all the fuss made about it and I wonder. Isn't it just rice stuffed omelette topped with ketchup? And what's with the ketchup? Does it even go with eggs? And rice? And I'm no fan of ketchup, I'd have it only with fries with very small amounts. Bottomline, the one thing I was never curious about was Omurice. That changed when I watched that episode of Hanasaku Iroha. There was Ohana's school's cultural festival. Their class was having a maids' café, and Minko was responsible for the menu. Then, there was this stupid argument about Omurice, one girl wanted to have it on the menu to present it to the boy she likes, and Minko thought this was ridiculous and she wouldn't have such a trivial dish on the menu. The other girls thought that Minko was being insensitive, and I thought she was being the only sane person on the planet. Anyway, Ohana settled the dispute by making the omurice into a more complex dish. I don't exactly remember how she did it, but it seemed delicious back then, and that was when I started to be curious about Omurice.

                So, yesterday I had some leftover rice and I thought maybe I should give it a try. I looked for a recipe and found a number of them. I chose one to follow, or almost follow.

First of all it seemed that the rice wouldn't be plain rice, and that' one thing I didn't know until I've watched Hanasaku Iroha. 

• You have cooked rice ready, then set it aside for now.
• In a skillet sautee chopped onion. I used chopped scallions instead of Onion. Chopping onions give me a headache. -_- I'd do it if it was for diner, but that was just for my own lunch.
• The recipe called for oil to sautee everything in, but I only used a tiny bit of unsalted butter. I like its taste better.
• Add chicken thigh cut into cubes. Chicken was not available, so I used 2 slices of chicken cold cuts instead. I cut the slices into square like pieces. It's nothing like the chicken of course, but it would do for that meal.
• Then add vegetables; any vegetables you like. I used what was available which was: frozen peas, carrots and corn. I defrosted them in the microwave, I didn't feel like waiting for long.   
• I, also, added some mushroom. I cut it into small pieces. I used canned whole mushrooms.
• After, everything is tender, stir in the cooked rice.
• Then, stir in Ketchup and soy sauce. As for the amount the recipe called for a tablespoon of Ketchup and a teaspoon of soy sauce. What I did was that I used one or two (can't remember -_-), probably two, of those small ketchup packets. Then, I put in soy sauce directly from the bottle until I felt I've put enough. It might have been slightly more than a teaspoon.
• Now, you have reddish looking rice mixed with chicken or whatever, and vegetables.
• 
  

  

  That's pretty much how the rice looked like!

• Set the rice aside and then prepare the omelette, like you always do. Beat the eggs, add a little bit of milk, black pepper and salt, then pour the mix in a well-greased pan. I used the same skillet I was using for the rice. I just added a bit more unsalted butter, and spread it.
• Now, let the eggs set on one side, only one side, because that's when I made my mistake.
• When the lower side had set add grated sharp Cheddar cheese on top of the upper side, which hasn't set yet. Add the rice on top of it, and then fold the omelet from both sides to close on the rice. My mistake was that I let both sides set, so the Omelets wouldn't stick to the rice when I folded it.I solved that by placing the plate I'd use for eating, on top of the skillet covering it, flipping the skillet and the plate, so I finally get the omelet on top of the rice covering it. It didn't look like the usual Omurice, but it was fine.
• Then, I made the step I was willing to ignore in the beginning, pouring ketchup on top. I was almost certain that if this dish had any chance of being delicious, the ketchup on top would ruin, but I added some anyway.
• 
  

  

  It didn't look exactly like that because of my mistake.

      Now the dish was ready and all that was left was eating. It's worth mentioning that I was curious about the rice mixed with ketchup, so I tasted it while making the omelet, and it was brilliant! Even mum got curious and had a spoonful and said it was very good. I tasted my first spoonful of the rice mix + melted cheddar cheese + omelet + ketchup and it was magical!!

      Yes! The dish was amazing and the ketchup made it even test better! Who would've ever though ketchup can make something taste so yummy?! (Possibly, anyone but me XD)

       When I make something, and it tastes so good, I feel like leaving some for my brother to share the magic with me. He watches anime too, so he knows about it. :D He thought it tasted so good, and I should make it again, but go easy on the cheddar cheese, since he doesn't like it at all. From time to time, he would keep saying that was so good! XD

       I, absolutely, recommend this dish. It's very easy to prepare and it tastes like magic! It's perfect! Try it!!

My References for the recipe: (they were very helpful)

http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/omurice-japanese-omelette-rice/

http://www.japanesecooking101.com/omurice-recipe/

Note! None of the pictures are mine, I forgot to take any photos -_-. Next time, I will!