Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

There are two parts to Japanese <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/omurice">omurice</a>: the beautifully made omelet and the rice it’s served with. While you could serve the omelet with plain steamed white rice, it’s typically served with fried rice spiked with a little ketchup. Yup, you heard that right: ketchup. The reason for that is that the version of omurice that’s most well-known today was created for the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVgKccixIhQ">cult-classic foodie flick Tampopo</a>, and in the brilliant scene it’s featured in, the cook stir-fries rice with ketchup. The inclusion of ketchup squarely situates this dish in “yoshoku,” or the class of Japanese dishes with Western origins. Our version includes a little ground chicken to give it some heft, but otherwise, it’s just well-executed fried rice: distinct grains of rice, seasoned with soy sauce, a little chicken bouillon powder, toasted sesame oil, and, of course, ketchup, then tossed with scallions and finished with a knob of butter.

Omurice-Style Fried Rice