The one kitchen appliance that I cannot live without is my electric rice cooker. It’s an incredible time-saving tool that helps me get delicious meals on the table every night. I put it to work making dishes like Japanese ketchup rice (ケチャップライス), one of my childhood favorites!
While I often cook chicken rice in a pan for omurice, it’s super convenient and hassle-free to use a rice cooker. Let me show you how with my Rice Cooker Japanese Ketchup Rice recipe so you can make this nostalgic and comforting dish at home with the push of a button.
What is Ketchup Rice?
Ketchup rice (ケチャップライス) or chicken rice (チキンライス) is a Western-style Japanese dish made of short-grain white rice, diced chicken, and ketchup seasoning. The British introduced chicken pilaf in the 1880s, and local chefs eventually adapted the recipe to use tomatoes and water instead of saffron and soup stock. Chicken rice exploded in popularity in the early Showa era (1926–1989) as Kagome ketchup became common in Japanese households.
Many Japanese have fond memories of enjoying the homemade ketchup rice that our moms cooked for us. We feel nostalgic for the ketchup rice we ate in children’s (okosama) lunch meals at department store cafeterias and family restaurants. Even as adults, eating omurice filled with chicken rice instantly transports us to those warm and happy times.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Use a convenient electric rice cooker to make delicious chicken rice:
- Easy — Add the ingredients to the inner pot, push the Start button, and let the rice cooker do the rest.
- Saves time — You can easily make other dishes while the rice cooks.
- Prep ahead — Make it earlier in the day at your convenience.
- Cook while you’re away — Program your cooker to make it when you’re at work, running errands, or even sleeping overnight.
- Family-friendly — Kids and adults alike love the tangy and comforting taste.
- Economical and filling — The ingredients for this satisfying dish are simple and easy to find.
Ingredients for Japanese Ketchup Rice
Here are some basic ingredients you’ll need for this dish:
- Japanese short-grain white rice – Provides the right texture and stickiness to shape for omurice.
- Water
- Onion
- Chicken thigh – Thighs stay juicier and more flavorful than chicken breast.
- Green peas – The fresh green color from peas add a nice contrast with the red-tinged rice.
- Tomato ketchup – I highly recommend Kagome brand Japanese ketchup for an authentic flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce – Adds umami and complexity; you can substitute tonkatsu sauce or soy sauce.
- Butter – Gives a rich flavor and creamy texture to balance the tangy ketchup.
- Dried bay leaf
- Salt and black pepper
Substitution Tips and Variations
It’s easy to customize this dish with your favorite ingredients or what you have on hand.
- Swap out the protein. Instead of chicken, you can try bacon, ham, shrimp, Chinese sausage, chashu pork, baked or fried tofu, or edamame — or skip it all together.
- Try different vegetables. Chopped green beans, cubed carrots, edamame, corn kernels, or even frozen mixed veggies will work well.
- Use tonkatsu sauce or soy sauce if you don’t have Worcestershire sauce.
- Change the seasonings. While ketchup is the classic seasoning, you could flavor it any way you like. Try salt and black pepper, soy sauce, curry powder, or garlic. If you use a dry seasoning instead of ketchup, you may need to increase the water amount in the recipe.
- Use chicken stock instead of water.
- No rice cooker? Try using a pot over the stove or donabe.
How to Make Japanese Ketchup Rice
Make rice cooker ketchup rice in the same manner as takikomi gohan, a traditional Japanese mixed rice with all kinds of seasonal proteins and vegetables.
- Mince the onions and cut the chicken thigh into bite-size pieces.
- Wash the short-grain rice and drain well.
- Soak the rice. Add the rice to the rice cooker pot. Pour in the seasonings and water, then stir together with the rice. Let the rice soak for 10–15 minutes.
- Cook the rice. Scatter the minced onion and chicken pieces on top of the rice. Do not mix. Then, add the butter and dried bay leaf. Select the Regular setting and press Start. Once it turns off, let the rice steam for 10 minutes.
- Open the lid. Add the green peas, then fluff to mix in the peas and chicken.
Recipe Tips and Techniques
- Wash and rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Don’t skip this step! It helps remove the natural occurrence of arsenic and impurities.
- Soak the rice for 10–15 minutes before cooking (if your rice cooker doesn’t include this time). Japanese short-grain rice gets dry as it sits in the bag and needs moisture to revive the texture. Give it time to absorb the water so it gets plump and fluffy after cooking.
- Do not mix in the chicken and onion. The rice will not cook evenly if mixed with other ingredients. Simply layer the onion and chicken on top of the uncooked rice, then cook. Once it’s done, you can gently incorporate them with a rice paddle.
- Steam the rice for 10 minutes after the cooker turns off. Steaming is an essential part of cooking the rice. Some rice cookers already have steaming time added to the cooking program, so please check your rice cooker’s manual.
- Use the side of a small bowl and a spatula to shape the chicken rice into the iconic oval or football shape to serve in omurice (see the image in my Omurice recipe).
Prefer to cook this dish in a frying pan? Check out my Japanese Chicken Rice. It’s a copycat recipe for a Chicken Fried Rice episode on Netflix’s Midnight Diner Season 2.
How to Store
- To Freeze or Refrigerate: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month. Japanese people always freeze leftover rice to keep it from getting hard in the refrigerator.
- To Reheat: Reheat the ketchup rice in the microwave.
What to Serve with Japanese Ketchup Rice
- Omurice (Japanese omelette rice)
- Hambagu (Japanese hamburger steak)
- Ebi Fry (panko-breaded fried shrimp)
- Karaage (Japanese fried chicken)
- Corn Potage (corn soup)
- Apple Salad or Apple Bunnies
- Purin (custard pudding)
- Japanese Cream Soda
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Rice Cooker Japanese Ketchup Rice
Ingredients
- 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice (2 rice cooker cups, 360 ml)
- 1¼ cups water
- ½ onion
- 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken thigh (can substitute it with bacon, sausages, or mushrooms)
- 2 Tbsp green peas (cooked)
For the Seasoning
- ⅓ cup ketchup (use Kagome brand ketchup for an authentic flavor; add more for strong ketchup flavor)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I use Lea & Perrins brand; you can substitute tonkatsu sauce or soy sauce)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 bay leaf (dried)
- 1½ Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Wash the Rice
- Quick Rinse: Add just enough tap water to the bowl to submerge 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice. Then, discard the water immediately. Tip: Rice absorbs water very quickly when you start rinsing, so this quick rinse helps remove impurities from the rice and prevent it from absorbing the first few rounds of milky water.
- Wash: Next, use your fingers to gently agitate the wet rice grains in a circular motion for 10–15 seconds. Don‘t use a strainer as it can break the rice. Tip: Using very little water allows the grains to rub against each other. It also reduces the absorption of impurities from the milky water.
- Rinse: Add tap water and immediately discard the cloudy water. Repeat one more time.
- Repeat the Wash and Rinse process (steps 2 and 3) one to two more times.
- Drain: When the water is almost clear, use a fine-mesh sieve to drain and shake off any excess water. Do not leave it for more than 5 minutes as it can easily get too dry.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Mince ½ onion finely (called mijingiri in Japanese). Lay it flat side down on the cutting board. With the knife edge toward the root end, make ⅛-inch horizontal slices to within ½ inch of the root end, keeping the root end intact. With the knife tip pointing toward the root end, make ⅛-inch vertical slices, again keeping the root intact.
- Make perpendicular cuts down through the vertical slices you made. To chop the onions finer, run your knife through them using a rocking motion. Hold down the tip of the knife; otherwise, the onions will go flying around the room.
- Next, trim the fat from 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken thigh. Then, angle your knife back and diagonally (so it‘s nearly parallel to the cutting board) and cut the chicken against the grain into thin strips. This Japanese cutting technique is called sogigiri.
- Cut the chicken strips into ½-inch (1.5-cm) pieces, again using the sogigiri technique.
To Cook the Ketchup Rice
- Add the well-drained rice to the inner pot of the rice cooker. Then, add ⅓ cup ketchup and 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.
- Add 1¼ cups water. Mix it all together with a spatula.
- Add 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix again, then level the rice.
- Scatter the minced onion on top of the rice in a single layer. DO NOT MIX.
- Add the chicken pieces on top in a single layer. Do not mix.
- Add 1 bay leaf (dried) and 1½ Tbsp butter on top. Close the lid, select the Regular cooking mode, then press the Start button. If your rice cooker does not have soaking time added into the cooking program, let the rice soak in the liquid for 10–15 minutes before you press Start.
- Once the rice is done, add 2 Tbsp green peas (cooked).
- Remove the bay leaf. Then, gently fluff with a rice paddle to mix in the ingredients and serve.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month. Japanese people always freeze leftover rice to keep it from getting hard in the refrigerator. Reheat the ketchup rice in the microwave until warm.
Nutrition
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