Omurice (Ketchup Rice)

At the high school I went to in Hawaii, most people brought home lunch.  I'm not really sure why, in fact I don't think I ever ate a hot lunch from the Cafeteria during my entire stay there.  (Though I did eat a lot of pizza and chicken fingers from the Snack Bar...)  My best friend always had the best lunches.  Her mom had moved to Hawaii from Japan and so every day my best friend and her brother had the best bento lunches!  I always looked over in envy and wanted to switch my turkey sandwich and chips for her lunch.  My best friend must have told her mom, since every once in a while she would pack a bento for me too! 

One of my best friends favorites, that I often stole a bite of, was Ketchup rice, or Omurice.  This dish is basically a spin on fried rice and combines it in an omelet.  According to Wikipedia, the traditional Omurice is made with a chicken ketchup rice, but this recipe is the way I remember my best friends mom making it. 
Ketchup Rice
from my best friends mom

2 cups day old rice
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. ketchup
6 slices Canadian bacon/bacon/ham (approximately 100g)
salt
pepper
Tabasco (optional)
4 eggs
1 tbsp. milk

1.  Dice the onion, green bell pepper and Canadian bacon into even sized pieces. 

2.  Heat skillet and pour 1 Tbsp. olive oil into pan.  Cook the Canadian bacon, onion and green bell pepper until onion and bell pepper soften.  Season with salt and pepper. 

3.  Add in the 2 Tbsp. of ketchup and mix well.  Pour rice into the skillet and mix well until rice is evenly coated with the ketchup mixture.  *If you like it spicy add in a couple dashes of Tabasco*  

4.  Cook until mixture is evenly heated and remove from heat.  *You can eat the ketchup rice just like this or you can wrap it in an omelet*

Omelet
1.  Crack eggs into a bowl and add in milk.  Quickly beat the eggs with a fork.  *I typically use 1.5 -2 eggs per omelet*

2.  Preheat a small skillet and spray with cooking spray.  Pour egg mixture into hot pan and quickly push eggs around in the pan for 30 seconds.

3.  Run chopsticks around the perimeter of the pan and swirl egg mixture to spread evenly throughout the pan.  Repeat as many times as necessary.  Once egg is 90% set, spoon the ketchup rice down the middle of the omelet. 

4.  Flip one side of the omelet over the ketchup rice and roll the omelet onto the plate.  With a paper towel quickly shape the omelet (tuck edges under so it is nicely rolled around the ketchup rice). 

5.  Drizzle with ketchup or Siracha!

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