A classic Chinese-influenced food in Japan, Tenshinhan is a tender crab omelette served over dome-shaped steamed rice and blanketed in a thick sweet and sour sauce. It’s also a quick comfort food to make at home. You’ll love this easy recipe!
3tspsugar(my family likes Tenshinhan on the sweeter side for a more nostalgic taste, but you may use 2 tsp of sugar, if you wish; do not completely omit it as you need sugar to counterbalance the soy sauce and vinegar)›
In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the sauce: ½ cup chicken stock/broth, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 tsp sugar, 1 tsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), 1 tsp sake, and 1½ tsp potato starch or cornstarch. Mix it all together (I love this flat whisk).
Place the saucepan on the stove and turn on the heat to medium. Once the sauce is boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer until thickened. The consistency should be similar to maple syrup.
To Make One Omelette
Cut 2 sticks real or imitation crabmeat into pieces 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. You can decide if you‘d like to cut the crabmeat into smaller pieces. My family prefers them to be bite-sized pieces rather than long pieces.
In a small bowl, beat 1 large egg. Shred the pieces from 1 stick of crabmeat with your fingers and add it to the egg mixture.
Season the egg mixture with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
You can prepare the other bowl of the egg mixture so you can cook the second batch immediately after the first batch. To prepare the individual serving plates, fill a regular rice bowl with 1 serving cooked Japanese short-grain rice. Gently press it down so you can get a nice, clean dome shape. Invert the bowl onto an individual plate to make a mound of steamed rice. Repeat for the second plate.
Heat a frying pan (I use a carbon steel wok similar to this) over medium heat. Once it‘s hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil and evenly coat the pan.
When the oil is hot, add the egg mixture. It will immediately float over the oil. Now, poke the egg mixture with your chopsticks or a silicone spatula to create holes. The uncooked egg mixture will fill in the holes. Tip: If the egg didn‘t float, either you didn‘t have enough oil or your oil wasn‘t hot enough.
When there is no more uncooked egg mixture, stop poking (which could cause a tear or hole). When the surface of the omelette is just set, drizzle ½ tsp roasted sesame oil around the edges.
Transfer the omelette to the mound of steamed rice and cover it with the egg. Pour one portion of the piping hot sweet and sour sauce over the omelet. Garnish the omelette with ½ Tbsp green peas.
Repeat this process for the second batch.
To Store
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for 2 days or 2 weeks in the freezer. I recommend keeping the sauce separately.