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    Home » Recipes » Fish and Seafood

    Tenshinhan (Crab Meat Omelette on Rice)

    Published: Jan 12, 2022 · Modified: Apr 9, 2022 by Yuto Omura

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    Tenshinhan is a delicious dish made up of a fluffy crab meat omelette served on a mountain of rice and then drizzled with a glossy sweet vinegar sauce. Not only is it extremely tasty, but it's super easy to make too!

    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice

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    Tenshinhan

    Tenshinhan (天津飯) is a Chinese-influenced Japanese dish. Delicious omelette made with imitation crab and shiitake mushrooms served on a bed of rice and then coated in a thick glossy sweet vinegar sauce. It has some similarities to Chinese egg foo yung.

    Although tenshinhan is a popular dish that can be found in any Chinese restaurant across Japan, many Japanese people don't realise that it's not true Chinese food. In reality, it's actually a Japanese creation!

    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice

    History of Tenshinhan

    There are a few theories about the origin of Tenshinhan, but it is believed to have started when crab meat was mixed with eggs and baked, then served over rice during the food shortage after WWII.

    During this time, the Chinese city of Tainjin (天津) was known for its high quality rice and it became popular to serve crab omelette on top of "tenshin rice". "Tenshin" is how the Chinese characters are read in Japanese.

    As for the roots of the birth of Tenshinhan, there are two theories. One is the dish was created in a restaurant called "Raizen" in Tokyo, the other is from "Taisho-ken" in Osaka.

    In fact, tenshinhan has slightly different sauce depending on the region. Tokyo style is more like sweet and sour sauce and the contains rice vinegar, whereas Osaka style is more savory and swaps the vinegar for sake. My recipe is Tokyo style.

    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice side view

    Ingredients used in tenshinhan

    Other than the eggs needed to make omelette, other common ingredients for tenshinhan include crab meat, green onions, salt, and green peas...etc

    However, real crab meat is an expensive ingredient so for home cooking, we tend to use imitation crab (crab sticks) instead. It also makes the dish more colourful. It's also fine to use canned crab if you prefer.

    To make the tenshinhan, simply mix the egg with the other ingredients and then pour the mixture into a wok over a medium-high heat. Mix it quickly, and when the mixture is half-cooked, shape it into a circle. You should use a pan that is roughly the same size as your serving dish.

    The key to making delicious tenshinhan is to make a crispy base and a soft, half-cooked inside. (Of course, how cooked you like your eggs depends on preference, but true tenshinhan should be fluffy and moist!)

    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice top down

    Tips for making the perfect tenshinhan

    Tenshinhan is a quick and easy dish, but here are a few techniques to follow to make it fail-proof!

    Order of cooking is important

    For tenshinhan, you should cook the rice in advance and the most efficient way is to use a rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, check out my post "how to cook Japanese style rice on the stove".

    I often freeze leftover rice and microwave it when I want to eat, using frozen rice to make tenshinhan makes the whole process so quick and easy!

    If you cook the eggs first, the residual heat will continue to cook the eggs and make them hard so I recommend cooking the eggs last.

    Serve the cooked rice in a bowl, make the sauce, and then finally cook the eggs to finish the dish.

    Basically, cooking the egg should always be the last step!

    Tenshinhan sprinkled with green peas close up

    Adding mayonnaise to egg mixture

    Mayonnaise helps to reduce the protein binding caused by heating the eggs, preventing them from hardening and making the eggs fluffy.

    To me, fluffy omlette is the most important element for this dish!

    Half-cook the egg

    When it comes to cooking the egg mixture in this recipe, I purposely cook only on one side only so that the top will still be a bit runny.

    That way, you can enjoy different textures on the bottom and top!

    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice with white spoon

    Other Chinese-Inspired Japanese dishes

    Why not cook up a Japanese Chinese-inspired feast? Serve tenshinhan with some of these delicious recipes:

    • Pan-fried gyoza
    • Crispy harumaki (spring rolls)
    • Chinjaorosu (pepper steak)
    • Spicy Mapo Tofu
    • 15 minute Tantanmen Ramen
    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice on spoon
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    Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice featured img

    Tenshinhan (Crab Meat Omelette on Rice)


    • Author: Yuto Omura
    • Total Time: 40 minutes
    • Yield: 1-2 portions 1x
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    Description

    Fluffy omelette with imitation crab meat and shiitake mushrooms served on a mountain of rice and drizzled with a thick and glossy sweet vinegar sauce. Serves 1-2. (Cooking time doesn't include rice.)


    Ingredients

    Scale

    Prep

    • 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
    • 100ml water
    • 200g cooked rice (90-100g before cooking)

    Sauce

    • 15g unsalted butter
    • 2 tsp soy sauce
    • 200ml chicken stock
    • ½ tbsp light brown sugar
    • 1 pinch salt
    • ½ tbsp rice vinegar
    • slurry (1 tbsp cold water mixed with 1 tsp potato starch or corn starch)

    Tenshinhan

    • 1 tbsp spring onion white part, finely diced
    • 30g imitation crab (crab sticks)
    • 4 eggs
    • 2 tsp Japanese mayonnaise
    • 1 tbsp shiitake mushroom dashi (from soaked shiitake)
    • 1 tsp ginger paste (grated ginger)
    • 1 pinches salt
    • 1 pinch pepper
    • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
    • 1 tsp sesame oil
    • green peas to garnish

    Instructions

    Prep

    1. Place two dried shiitake mushrooms in approximately 100ml of cold water. (Or enough to cover, depending on the container.) Allow to soak for about 20-30 minutes or until softened.
      soaking dry shiitake mushrooms
    2. If you haven't already, cook the rice. (I often use frozen rice and microwave it while cooking the sauce.)
      transferring rice into pot

    Sauce

    1. Place a saucepan on the stove and melt 15g butter on a low heat.
      melting butter in sauce pan
    2. Once melted, add 2 tsp of soy sauce and mix.
      pouring soy sauce into butter
    3. Add 200ml chicken stock, ½ tbsp light brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Turn up the heat to medium and bring to boil.
      adding chicken stock to sauce
    4. Allow to boil for 1 minute and then add ½ tbsp rice vinegar and your slurry (1 tbsp cold water mixed with 1 tsp corn starch).
      making slurry
    5. Turn down the heat to medium-low and continue to heat while mixing until it becomes slightly thickened and glossy.
    6. Turn off the heat and set aside.

    Omelette

    1. Remove the soaked shiitake mushrooms from the water (don't throw away the water!), cut off the stems and then cut them into thin slices.
      slicing shiitake mushrooms
    2. Shred the imitation crab with a fork.
      shredding imitation crab for tenshinhan
    3. Crack 4 eggs into a bowl and whisk.
      cracking eggs into a bowl
    4. Add the finely diced spring onion, sliced shiitake mushrooms and shreds of imitation crab, then whisk.
      adding ingredients to eggs for tenshinhan
    5. Next add 1 tbsp of the shiitake dashi (left over water from soaking the mushrooms), 2 tsp Japanese mayonnaise, 1 tsp of ginger paste (grated ginger) and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk well.
      seasoning tenshinhan mixture
    6. Heat a wok or non-stick frying pan on medium-high and once hot, add a drizzle of vegetable oil.
      pouring oil into heated pan
    7. Pour the egg mixture in and whisk while still runny (like you would with scrambled eggs) for about 30 seconds.
      whisking egg to make tenshinhan
    8. Turn down the heat to medium and continue to heat without mixing until the egg is cooked half way through (it will be a bit runny on top - if you don't like runny eggs you can flip it to cook the other side.)
      cooked tenshinhan in frying pan
    9. Make a mountain of rice on a plate and carefully slide the omelette on top of the rice.
      placing omelette over rice
    10. Pour the sauce over the top and garnish with a drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkling of green peas.
      pouring sauce over tenshinhan
    11. Enjoy!
      Tenshinhan - Crab meat omelette on rice on spoon
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • soaking time: 25
    • Cook Time: 10 minutes
    • Category: Rice
    • Method: Frying
    • Cuisine: Japanese / Chinese

    Keywords: Tenshinhan, tenshinhan food, tenshinhan recipe, how to make tenshinhan, crab omelette, crab recipe, crab omelet, crab omelette on rice, crab omelet on rice, crab meat omelette, Japanese crab omelette,

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    Thanks for visiting Sudachi Recipes. My name is Yuto and I'm a Japanese guy with a passion for food. Here I share tasty and accessible recipes so that you can bring a taste of Japan to your own kitchen.

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