‘I panic. It turns to rubber’: could I learn to make omurice, the ‘world’s hardest omelette’?

‘If Bourdian wrote that omelette skills reveal your character, then I’m lacking integrity’ … Ammar Kalia tackles the classic omurice. Photograph: Jill Mead/The GuardianView image in fullscreen‘If Bourdian wrote that omelette skills reveal your character, then I’m lacking integrity’ …

Ammar Kalia tackles the classic omurice. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian‘I panic. It turns to rubber’: could I learn to make omurice, the ‘world’s hardest omelette’?

These unctuous rice-filled Japanese egg dishes are all over social media. But what does it cost to make them? A lot of eggs and a whole lot of pans ...

Among the endless videos of cute animals, influencer vlogs and celebrity content, something unusual has been going viral across social media recently: omelettes. A far cry from the usual solid egg slabs served in cafes, these bright yellow omelettes are a fluffy, oval-shaped treat filled with unctuous liquid curds, which are typically sliced open to unfurl across a mound of rice. Called omurice, the Japanese dish has been called “the world’s hardest omelette to make”.

London-based software engineer Jeremy Ocampo, who goes by the social media tag OmuricePapi, has spent the past six months documenting his journey to perfect the art of the omurice online. In the process he has amassed 110,000 followers on YouTube and more than 68,000 on Instagram. “I’m Filipino, so I grew up eating rice and eggs every day, but it took going to Japan for the first time in 2025 to have my mind blown by omurice,” he says.

“I was hooked: the presentation of slicing it open over your rice makes it so alluring, while you can’t replicate that texture of egg in any other dish. It’s so unique that when I got home, I decided to teach myself how to do it.”Initially struggling to find the right nonstick pan that could allow the egg mixture to slide and fold easily, and then running into difficulties when it came to selecting the ideal temperature on his gas hob, Ocampo estimates it took him 50 tries until he finally came up with a passable attempt.

“I’ve been making it three times a week and I was eating so many eggs I actually realised I was mildly allergic to them,” he laughs, adding that he now largely serves his omurice to friends. “I must have spent about £150 on 300 eggs and I’ve gone through at least five pans – but now I’m pretty consistent, and it takes me around a minute from start to finish,” he says. “You just have to keep a positive attitude if you want to keep trying and learn yourself eventually!”

View image in fullscreenAn exemplary omurice at Kyuramen, Winchester, MA. Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty ImagesTheories differ as to the origins of omurice. Some believe it was invented at the turn of the 20th century in a western-style restaurant in Tokyo’s Ginza district; others say it emerged in Osaka in 1925, when a diner chef decided to pair an omelette with rice.

Yet, it only became popular across Japan in the 1950s. “There was a period [of food] in Japan called Yōshoku, where we brought in lots of western cultural influences and it was very widespread after the second world war,” says Japanese chef and culinary expert Yuki Gomi. “Things like yakisoba and katsu curry are all examples of this western mixing, while omurice has both French and American influences.

I’m 50 now and I remember growing up in the 1970s with my mother making me omurice. It was a cute dish for children, where you would write their name or a smiley face on the egg with ketchup. I have made it lots for my own daughter, although my version is flatter than the ones going crazy on social media now.”

A more traditional omurice is closer to a French-style omelette and always served over a seasoned tomato rice, with a squirt of ketchup the typical garnish. The buoyant, dome-like omurice that has gone viral over social media, however, originated in the late 1970s with omelette aficionado – and online personality in his own right – Motokichi Yukimura. Founding his restaurant Kichi Kichi Omurice in Kyoto in 1978, in tribute to his favourite childhood dish, it was only a decade ago that Yukimura’s particularly theatrical version of the omurice began attracting international attention thanks to his penchant for singing and dancing while cooking the dish.

“I spent years perfecting my version of the omurice. Then, I realised I wanted to create more than a delicious meal but a joyful experience too, so I started talking to my guests while cooking and creating a performance,” Yukimura says. “People would video my omurice and soon we began having customers queueing around the corner to get into the restaurant.

Over the past decade I think I have made 100,000 omelettes. I just want to make the world happy through omurice!”Pairing his version with a glossy, umami-rich demi-glace glaze that takes nine hours to reduce, Yukimura’s renowned dish has since spawned alternative versions in the UK.

Michelin-starred London restaurant Mountain has a spider crab omelette sprinkled with sea kel