I've been captivated by Midnight Diner - Tokyo Stories on Netflix and, whilst it's not really about food per se, I do now have a total longing to visit Tokyo and also a few dishes I want to try and make.
Aside ... DO WATCH!
It's wonderful. Plus each episode around 20 minutes so perfect for my gnat-like attention span.
The first ... is omurice, or Japanese fried rice omelette.
Now this sounds like something I'll love!
I ADORE a kao pad gai, Thai chicken fried rice, in which the egg is mixed in with the rice and chicken and then served with a little fish sauce chilli dip.
So these flavours are already my favourites and it looked like a simple little twist on my staple.
It looked so simple too!
A Western-style omelette filled with Asian-style chicken fried rice, neatly parcelled and decorated with a few stripes of ketchup.
Like THIS >>>>>> , this is what I'm aiming for.
I don't really like ketchup, so I was going to substitute that ... and I like spicy, so decided to add a finely chopped chilli to my chicken fried rice.
But Try Number 1 wasn't a great success.
I cooked far too much of the chicken fried rice, adding in peppers and vegetables and well, it was just too much.
I also tried to slide my somewhat anaemic-looking omelette onto a plate, add the (too much) filling then fold.
OK that didn't work too well. Also I didn't have ketchup or Sri Racha sauce which I thought would work well ... so used my - also-anaemic-looking (but delicious) - hot sweet chilli sauce.
Well, it tasted ok .... but it didn't look great.
Try Number 2.
Got it!
You use less filling and add it directly to the omelette itself, then fold over in the pan.
AND I had Sri Racha sauce by then too!
Er ... it still broke, didn't look right, but this one tasted really good.
Omurice Try Number 1
Omurice Try Number 2
I tried again.
Here we go, Try Number 3.
Same as number 2 really, just knowing what I'm doing a little more this time.
And it showed - so practice does make perfect!
Easy fried rice mixture: onion, garlic and chilli in the pan with a little oil and then added diced chicken breast.
Stir fry to cook for a few minutes, adding a splash of water if needed.
Crumble in a little piece of a Knorr chicken stock cube, a splash more water, a dash of light soy sauce and another of fish sauce, a little pinch of sugar, and stir fry for another couple of minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Add more water if needed - you don't want a juice/sauce but you don't want it dry or burnt either of course!
Throw in a chopped spring onion and a small handful of chopped coriander leaves if liked (OK, confession - I thought I'd bought coriander but it was parsley! I used it anyway).
Put the chicken fried rice mixture into a bowl and cover to keep warm while you make the omelette.
2 eggs in a bowl, with some little chunks of butter, a splash of milk (I use almond milk) and a dash of white pepper, and beat together.
Non-stick frying pan on with a little oil or spray oil then cook your omelette on one side, tilting and moving ... then add the fried rice mixture to one side and fold the other side of the omelette over.
Allow to cook for a few seconds more and then slide off onto a plate.
Add the finishing stripes of ketchup or Sri Racha sauce, as liked.
I'm pretty happy with this one!
And then I had an idea and went in for Try Number 4 ...
Fried rice. DONE.
Plated out using a little plastic bowl to make into that nice heaped shape.
And yes!
THEN I just covered it in a quilt of beautiful soft omelette and added some decorative Sri Racha sauce.
Now this was also really good, but to me ... just a tad less pretty than Number 3, done in the pan (and also no easier either ha!).
But whatever it looks like and however you make it, decorated with traditional ketchup or with Sri Racha sauce ...
