Thai omelette over rice (kai jeow)
A puffy omelette fried in hot oil until the edges are lacy and crisp, laid over jasmine rice with sriracha, the way Thai home cooks make a fast dinner.
- 30 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $1.54 a serving
- 680 calories
- Vegetarian
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 4 large eggs
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp sriracha, for serving
- 1 cucumber, sliced (optional)
- 2 tbsp cilantro, leaves (optional)
From your pantry
- 1¼ cups water
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Each serving has about 680 calories, 20 g protein, 79 g carbs and 31 g fat, and costs about $1.54 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No sriracha? Hot sauce works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice in a strainer until the water runs almost clear. Put it in a small with the water and over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes. Turn off the burner and leave the lid on while you make the omelettes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the eggs, soy sauce and cornstarch hard with a fork until foamy, about 30 seconds. Stir in the green onions.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Heat half the oil in a small nonstick over medium-high heat until it , about 2 minutes.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Hot oil is what makes it puff. A drop of egg should sizzle hard the second it lands.Pour in half the egg all at once. It will puff and bubble right away.
Medium-high heat
Cook until the edges are and , about 1 minute.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: It spits a little. Stand back and let it do its thing.Flip with a wide spatula and cook 1 minute more, until on both sides and no runny egg is left. Slide onto a plate and repeat with the rest of the oil and egg.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Fluff the rice into two bowls and lay an omelette on each. Serve with sriracha, cucumber slices and cilantro.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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