Tenshin chahan（Fried rice omelette with crab meat and sweet sour sauce on top, 天津炒飯）

Would you like to try a unique Japanese dish which looks like a Chinese dish and you can make at home? If so, Tenshin chahan is the one for you! This dish is named from Tianjin city in China (Tenshin city in Japanese). Apparently, this dish is originally from Japan. Chahan means fried rice in Japanese. This dish is similar to Tenshin don. The difference between Tenshin "chahan" and Tenshin "don" is "fried rice" or "white rice" inside.
Japanese people normally use some imitation crab meat to make this dish.
However, I couldn’t buy it at a local grocery store in the U.S.A.. I used the canned crab meat instead. If you used the imitation crab meat, shred apart the imitation crab meat and put them in the beaten eggs to make the imitation crab meat omelette.

Here is how to make it at home. Cooking time is about 30 - 40 minutes.

Ingredients (2 plates):

• cooked rice for 2 servings
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 canned crab meat (30g, 1oz) or imitation crab meat sticks
• 2 small packages of *fried rice seasonings (Crab flavor) -> See picture A
• 1 tablespoon of *sesame oil -> See picture B
• 1/2 green onion

For sweet sour sauce

• 250 ml (8.5floz) water
• 3 teaspoons of sugar
• 3 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of *Torigara soup powder (Japanese chicken soup stock) -> See picture C
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of *Katakuriko (potato starch) and mix up with little water -> See picture D

Here is how to make it at home. Cooking time is about 30 - 40 minutes.

1. Cook rice. Meanwhile, chop a green onion into small pieces.
2. After cooked rice is ready, preheat sesame oil in a flying pan with medium heat. Add cooked rice in the frying pan. Add *fried rice seasonings and mix thoroughly. -> See picture E.

3. Put fried rice on deep plates as shown in the picture. -> See picture F.

4. Beat 2 eggs at a time. Preheat vegetable oil or sesame oil in a different frying pan with medium heat. Pour beaten eggs in the frying pan. Simmer until eggs are fully cooked. Remove from heat. (Cooking tip: Do not overheat eggs.) Repeat this step for 2 servings. -> See picture G.

5. Cover omelette on top of the fried rice as shown in the picture. -> See picture H.

6. Put water, sugar, soy sauce, *Torigara soup powder, vinegar, *Katakuriko (potato starch) mix up with little water in a deep-frying pan. Heat them with medium heat until the sauce is melted and thick. Remove from heat. -> See picture I.
   (Cooking tip: Please ensure to mix *Katakuriko (potato starch) and a little water thoroughly before putting it in the deep-frying pan to avoid any clumps.)

7. Put crab meat and green onions on top. Pour the sauce from step 6. onto it.