Chikin Raisu (チキンライス, ketchup chicken rice)

Ketchup does honest work here. That surprises people, because they expect yōshoku to apologize for itself, as if a Japanese kitchen using butter and tomato ketchup must be less serious. No. Chikin raisu is honmono, the real thing, a home dish that knows exactly what it is.

The one detail that decides it is the rice. Use cooked short-grain rice that has cooled a little, because hot, wet rice clumps and turns pasty when it meets ketchup. Cold rice is fine too, if you loosen it first. You want each grain coated red-gold, not a sticky red mass. Ketchup goes into the pan before the rice for a moment, so its raw sweetness cooks down and its tomato taste deepens. That little minute is the difference between bright seasoning and a lunchbox accident.

Cut the chicken small, and the onion smaller. This isn't thrift for its own sake, though it is a kind dish to a budget. Small pieces season the rice evenly, so every spoonful has chicken, onion, and butter without needing a heavy sauce to hide behind. A few green peas at the end give color and a soft pop. Leave it room on the plate, as we do even with the plainest food. A mound with a little height looks calm, and calm food is easier to eat.