Fried Rice Omelets

I have been eating Fried Rice Omelets since I was a little girl...always thought my mom or dad made up this recipe. I was surprised to read this:
From Wikipedia- "Omurice, sometimes spelled "omu-rice" (オムライス, Omu-raisu), is a contemporary Japanese dish consisting of an omelet made with fried rice. It is a popular dish both commonly cooked at home and can be found at many Izakaya restaurants in Japan. It is also a popular dish in many restaurants in South Korea and Taiwan."
Even though fried rice is a Chinese dish, we loved it growing up. My kids still beg my mom, a.k.a . "Grandma Japanese" (yes they all call her that) to make them Fried Rice Omelets whenever she visits. It sounds weird, but is really so good.

Tips: Make SURE to use Japanese rice when making these. Sometimes known as Pearl Rice, sticky rice etc. Brands: Kokuho Rose, Calrose. It is best to cook the rice the day before you want to make fried rice. Or at least several hours before. If you try to make fried rice, and the rice is still hot or warm, it turns out too moist, with kind of a mushy texture. Yuk. When cooking the ingredients- vegetables, meat, etc., do so- one ingredient at a time. Mama tried to teach me this in the beginning, but I resisted, and wanted to throw everything in a pan together, mix it all up and expected it to taste like her fried rice. It never did. Something was always "off". She would shake her head and say "You HAVE to cook each ingredient one at a time, no mix all up." FINE. So, I finally listened, and now, after 26 years, can say my gohan (count them, three languages for me) is ALMOST as good as hers.

You know what is really funny? We love this, but she would be embarrassed to see that I posted this recipe on the blog. Kind of like an American posting a recipe for, say- Grilled Cheese sands made with Kraft Singles!

Fried Rice Omelets

7-8 cups cooked sticky Japanese rice, cooled completely

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion (yellow or white), cooked until soft

1/2 lb chopped ham (about 1 1/2 cups or two thick deli slices)

2 cups cabbage, sliced thin, cooked just until soft

4 Tablespoons butter, separated

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt

Pepper

Soy Sauce

1/2 bunch green onions, chopped white and green parts

Using a large non stick pan, cook each of the vegetables in a small amount of oil and butter. I use about 1 teaspoon for each vegetable/meat. Salt and Pepper each vegetable. Transfer to separate bowl or plate. It's OK to let them inter-mingle at this point (whew). After cooking all of the vegetables and meat, add about 2 tablespoons of butter to the Teflon pan. Over medium heat, add the rice a little at a time, breaking apart clumps with two wooden spoons until the rice is evenly distributed in the pan, and the butter is mixed in well. OK- Another tip- Do not stir this like it's a cake batter- toss the ingredients, like you would a salad. Add all of the vegetables and meat to the rice. Season again with fresh ground pepper. Add the soy sauce a little at a time- In our family, we don't like to drown the rice in soy sauce, so I only use about 2, maybe 3 tablespoons to 7-8 cups of rice. Taste, add salt and more pepper, if desired. After heated through, add fresh chopped green onions. Turn the heat way down. If you continue to leave the heat on, your beautiful fried rice will end up as gummy rice. Icky.

Now for the omelet part:

Mix eggs just as you would with a regular omelet. Sprinkle cheese over one side of the egg mixture, just before adding the fried rice. Fold over the top of the omelet. Slide on to a plate and enjoy.