Omurice or omu-rice (オムライス Omu-raisu?) is an example of yōshoku (a Western-influenced style of Japanese cuisine) consisting of an omelette made with fried rice and usually topped with ketchup. With omu and raisu being contractions of the words omelette and rice, the name is an example of wasei-eigo. It is a popular dish both commonly cooked at home and often found at western style diners in Japan. The dish was brought to Korea during Japanese rule, and today it is a fixture on gimbap restaurant menus throughout South Korea, where it is rendered as "오므라이스 (omeuraiseu)" in Hangul. Omurice is also popular in Taiwan, another territory formerly occupied by Japan. Children, in particular, enjoy omurice, and it is often featured in okosama-ranchi or kids' meals.
The dish typically consists of chikin raisu (chicken rice: rice pan-fried with ketchup and chicken) wrapped in a thin sheet of fried egg. The ingredients flavoring the rice vary. Often, the rice is fried with various meats (but typically chicken) and/or vegetables, and can be flavored with beef stock, ketchup, demi-glace, white sauce or simply salt and pepper. Sometimes, rice is replaced with fried noodles (yakisoba) to make omusoba. A variant in Okinawa is omutako, consisting of an omelet over taco rice. Fried hotdog and Spam are also two popular meats to include in the dish.
Video of the preparation of an omurice dish
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- Kishi Asako (March 15, 2002). "NIPPONIA No.20: Omuraisu", Web-Japan.org.
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