A Pinch of Poison

APOP: Kay's Challenge I - Omurice

Dear Kay,

For your first task I've decided to make it, hm... reasonably easy for you (: It can't go wrong, so pay good attention to the recipe I give you. It's called Omurice, it's Japanese (obviously) and yes, it will require you to wash rice. Please don't break any pots.

Per person, you will need;

1/4th cup of rice (measured when dry)

sauce to flavour (this is important: any sauce that is generally liked is usable. I recommend something like plum sauce or tomato sauce)

3 eggs

3 spoonfuls of soy sauce

1 minced clove of garlic

Sprinkle of cheese

Cooking oil 

If you wish you can also add other ingredients such as leaks, onion (preferably scallions), mushroom (you won't, I know you won't, but I'm just saying), ham and beansprouts. They are, however, not a must. They just make it taste better.

For this recipe, you will only need a pot to cook the rice, a frying pan and a bowl in which to bea tthe egg.

Step 1: washing the rice.

Washing rice isn't actually as hard as Hikari in Special A makes it >__< It's quite simple. If you have the required amount of rice in a bowl or pot, add cold water (for washing, always cold water, or you risk cooking it prematurely). Tilling the rice to and fro in the water is one way to wash it: I find that taking a handful of rice and water and crushing it into your fist before letting it go repeatedly makes it better. Washing rice is a sort of osmosis I suppose. It's almost like water and carbohydrates switch places: this will make sure the rice is soft and fluffy when cooked. You must wash the rice twice, and then leave it in (cold!!) water to sit for ten minutes.

Step 2: beating the egg.

This step seems a little awkward, but trust me on this. You need to beat the eggs per serving: 3 whole (raw) eggs go into the bowl, together with the 3 spoons of soy sauce and the garlic. You can just whisk this with a fork until it's a little darker than before. You won't really see any difference in the egg until you cook it. Note: you can leave out the soy sauce, which will make it look more like egg when you cook it. It's up to you.

Step 3: cooking the rice.

Drain the dry rice of the water, and add new water: put the pot with rice and water on full heat, stick the lid on, and wait until it starts to boil. Once boiled, take the lid back off: it should only take a few minutes now for the rice to be fully cooked.

Step 4: the quick bit when one half comes together.

If you have decided to add the ingredients usually found in fried rice, now is the time to start frying them with a little oil. Once the vegetables are a little softened and the rice is cooked (that's very important!) you add the vegetables and sauce into the rice, then put it back into the heat so that the sauce is fully warmed up.

Step 5: make the omelet.

Now you can take the whisked egg and pour it into the frying pan (which, may I add, must be generously applied with cooking oil): it only needs to be half-way cooked when you turn it over, so this requires a little speed. The minute it's turned over, you can put the desired amount of fried-rice onto one side of the egg. Sometimes a sprinkle of cheese on the egg helps the rice to stick. Then you can roll up the rest of the egg around the rice, and slid it onto a plate. 

Step 6: don't die.

Enjoy! 

 I mean it, don´t die. This is totally worth it and it´s actually eaiser than it sounds. Okay? Okay. Have fun with this! 

xx, Deb