Deliciously sweet and savoury omelette over rice
Simple ingredients come together in this comforting Japanese dish. Rice is topped with a thin crab stick omelette and coated in a rich sweet and sour sauce. Great served with a refreshing cucumber salad. Ready in 30min.
Recipe
Serves: 2 | Time: 30min (10 min for omelette +20 min for rice)
Ingredients
For the omelette
- 2 eggs
- 3 crab sticks, shredded
- Salt
- Oil to fry
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup dashi or chicken broth (120ml)
- 1.5 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 to 1 tbsp of sugar (depending on how sweet you like it, I recommend to start with 1/2 and add more as needed)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
To serve
- Rice (I opt for sushi rice for this one)
- Spring onions for topping (optional)
Method
Make rice to packet instructions
Make the sauce
- Put a small saucepan on medium heat.
- Add sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, dashi (or chicken broth).
- Mix corn-starch with a bit of cold water and add to the sauce.
- Heat until thickened (a few minutes). Adjust consistency to your liking (add a touch more water if you prefer it looser).
- Keep warm.
Make the omelettes
- Shred crab sticks.
- Make the 1st omelette: whisk 1 egg with a pinch of salt. Mix in half of the shredded crab sticks .
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Cook the first omelette on one side only, until just set. Set aside or plate as indicated below.
- Repeat for the second omelette.
The serve
- Place 1 portion of rice in a bowl or deep plate.
- Place the omelette over the rice.
- Cover with pipping hot sauce.
- Top with sliced spring onion.
- Enjoy!
Substitutions
I highlight here the core that makes the soul of the dish and suggest some possible substitutions.
Core: Omelette, rice, sauce.
Substitutions: You can play around the omelette filling, the broth or even the rice. You can make this dish vegetarian by replacing the crab sticks with dried shitake mushrooms and using their soaking liquid for the broth instead of the dashi. You could also use another protein or add julienned pickled ginger to your omelette.
| Recipe components | Possible substitutions* |
| Seafood sticks | • Dry shitake mushrooms (you can use the soaking liquid as your broth) • Fresh mushrooms (enoki, button, etc.) • Cooked chicken • Cooked prawns • Cooked pork |
| Dashi broth | • Chicken broth • Vegetable broth • Shitake soaking broth (see above) |
| Toppings | • Toasted sesame seeds • Peas • Fresh ginger (julienned) • Fresh chili (sliced) |
| Additional seasoning | • Pickled ginger |
| Rice | I prefer sushi rice for this but you can use any plain white or brown rice. You can also add sautéed vegetables in the rice such as courgettes (zucchinis), cabbage, carrots, etc. |
Japan
The Global Homecook 