Tag: vegetable oil

Omuraisu (Rice Omelette)
One great way to instill smart, healthful lifetime eating habits in your kids is to have them planning menus, preparing dishes, and cleaning up right alongside you. By doing so, you can expose youthful palates to a wide variety of foods, teach kids to ascertain the freshness of ingredients, show them the right way to use utensils and other cooking equipment, and get them to read recipes, follow directions, and pick up some elementary math. And it really doesn’t end with young kids, as I am now helping my college-aged daughter to expand her culinary repertoire from afar.

Omuraisu (Rice Omelette) Recipe

In any case, kids’ innate curiosity and creativity are definitely worth harnessing in the kitchen. In Japan and the US, the trend is evidenced by a whole spate of cookbooks, cooking classes, and television cooking shows aimed at children. Boys as well as girls will quickly find that cooperative cooking can be an easy and enjoyable daily activity involving the whole family, including dads. And best of all, very few children would refuse to sample at least a few bites of something they had a hand in cooking! Their creativity really comes out in how they decorate the top of the omelette using ketchup: hearts, the peace sign and smiley faces are all popular favorites. This recipe is derived from Yoshoku: the Japanese interpretation of Western dishes, which originated during the Meiji Era (1868-1912.)

Omuraisu (rice omelette), an all-time favorite of Japanese children (and most of their parents, for that matter), is a perfect dish to start with in this quest. It’s surprisingly easy to make – the most exotic seasoning you will need is ketchup. It is also an easy, great and tasty way to use up cooked Japanese rice!
Omuraisu (Rice Omelette)

Lucy Seligman

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Course Breakfast
Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4

Ingredients

Vegetable oil as needed

Butter as needed
3/4 cup white onion, peeled & minced
2/3 cup boneless ham*, finely chopped
7-8 tbsp Ketchup, or to taste
2 cups Japanese white rice, day-old firm, cooked & warmed up
4 tbsp dry white wine (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
8 eggs
Garnish:
additional ketchup
parsley sprigs

Instructions

To make the filling, first heat a small amount of oil in a 10-inch frying pan. Drain off oil and
reserve. Melt two tablespoons of butter in the same pan. Sauté the onions and
ham over medium heat until the onions are transparent. Add ketchup and mix
well. Add the rice and wine (if desired) and stir well until combined. Season to
taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the rice mixture to a bowl and cover with
plastic wrap to keep it warm.

To prepare the omelette, first break two eggs in a bowl and stir lightly. Season to taste with
salt and pepper. Prepare the same pan by heating the oil reserved previously in
it and then pouring off any excess. Add one-half tablespoon of butter and heat it
until it sizzles. Add the eggs and make a very soft, light-colored omelette.

While the eggs are still soft, place a quarter of the rice mixture in the center, cover with a
plate and turn over. Place a paper towel over the omelette and use it to shape
the omelette into a long oval, tucking in the edges neatly. Garnish the center
with ketchup and parsley. Make the other three omelettes in the same manner.
Serve hot.

Notes
*You can replace the ham with small pieces of skinless and boneless chicken breast (sautéed with salt and pepper or herb salt).

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Tebasaki: Nagoya-style Fried Chicken Wings
This recipe is a favorite in beer gardens and beer halls in Nagoya, where I happily lived for a number of years.

Beer halls and beer gardens are popular summer retreats in japan. Just like overseas drinkers, the Japanese enjoy a variety of highly addictive and tasty snacks that inevitably inspired thirst for another draught. One typical favorite is tebasaki – flavored fried chicken wings.

But first, a bit about beer. As far as we know, beer was introduced to Japan during the mid-Edo era (1603-1867) by Dutch merchants. The Dutch were allowed to land at Dejima island near Nagasaki during the long period of Japan’s national isolation, and among their wares was lager beer. The first Japanese to actually make beer for personal consumption was Dr. Komin Kawamoto, who acted as an interpreter for the Tokugawa military government in 1853 and was served beer while on Commodore Perry’s ship. Dr. Kawamoto became so enthusiastic about this new beverage that he obtained the recipe from Commodore Perry himself and then went home and started brewing. The first non-Japanese brewery was started in 1870 by an American named William Copeland, who built the Spring Valley Brewery in Yokohama to satisfy the thirsts of an increasing number of foreigners who converged on Japan after it opened its doors to the rest of world. We also have Copeland to thank for the first beer hall in Japan, situated right next to his brewery. Although these beers were not produced on a large scale, they were popular enough to be called maho mizu (magic water) by the Japanese.

In 1872, the first Japanese brewery opened in Osaka and began producing Shibuya beer. In March 1875, the first advertisement about beer appeared in Tokyo Nichi Shimbun (now the Mainichi Shimbun). It was a simple newspaper ad, but since beer was somewhat unknown, it caused a big commotion. Kiyobe Nakagawa, often called the father of beer, started what would later become Sapporo Beer in Sapporo the following year. By the mid-Meiji era (1868-1912) there more than 100 breweries scattered around Japan, including Kirin, which also had its origin in Yokohama.

Beer gardens first opened in 1896. Asahi Beer, based in Osaka, put up a tent and served a draft brew called Sakura Beer. In 1899, Ebisu Beer Hall was opened in Tokyo by Nihon Beer Corporation. Beer was sold by the glass with Western snacks such as sandwiches. After this, many popular beer halls opened in the city. Shimbashi Beer Hall, for example, catered to people waiting for trains and to foreigners. It was a large, typically noisy place. On opening day, it sold 225 liters of beer-due in no small part to the American navy men who had heard of it.

For the sake of recipe testing, I won’t mention how many chicken wings and mini-drumsticks were consumed, along with various bottles of Japanese beer……..in pursuit of the perfect recipe!
Tebasaki: Nagoya-style Fried Chicken Wings

Lucy Seligman

4 from 1 vote

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Course Appetizer
Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4

Ingredients

8-12 chicken wings or mini-drum sticks
vegetable oil for frying
1/2+ cup unagi-tare sauce, a thick, sweet, soy-based sauce often used for grilled eel
ground white pepper to taste
sansho pepper to taste
Garnish:
shredded cabbage

Instructions

Deep-fry the wings and or drumsticks in the oil until golden brown and fully cooked. Drain briefly.
Generously brush both sides of the chicken with the unagi sauce and dust generously all over with both of the peppers.
Place the chicken against a mound of cabbage and serve immediately.

Notes
There are endless seasoning variations to try and taste, and that’s part of the fun. Everyone has their own favorite. Remember to balance out a sweet base with a spicy topping as my recipe does.
Here are some other flavor ideas to try:
Make your own favorite soy-based marinade for the chicken: Some ingredients to add in could be minced garlic, wasabi, mustard, curry powder, sesame oil, paprika, white sesame seeds, vinegar, and so on.
Sprinkle cooked chicken with white sesame seeds, shichimi togarashi (7 taste pepper including red pepper), or coarsely cracked black pepper.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If you like this, check out other regional Japanese recipes >>

Do you have Lucy’s cookbook yet?

Leave a note in the comments section and let me know if you made this recipe and how it turned out!

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