KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — There is a Japanese saying — umi no sachi, yama no sachi, which may be translated as "the bounty of the oceans, the bounty of the land.”
I first came across this concept in Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s classic Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, where the eponymous heroine is reminded to bring "something from the ocean and something from the hills” for lunch at her new school.
The idea was to have a nutritious and balanced meal. And if this sounds too difficult, Kuroyanagi observes that it could be as simple as nori (dried seaweed) or bonito flakes for "something from the ocean” and soy-simmered potato or an omelette for "something from the hills.”
That last one struck me as a really good idea: What could be simpler than an omelette?
But how does one pair it with "something from the ocean”?
This is where looking for ideas in unexpected places helps. I was having a conversation with my friend in Bangkok, who was raving about the crab omelette he recently had. No need to go to any fancy Michelin-starred hotspot, just a neighbourhood stall located along a tiny soi (street) would do.
Why not recreate this at home? The luscious crab meat and fish sauce would offer "something from the ocean” whilst fresh eggs and zesty limes would represent "something from the hills.”
What we end up with for our efforts — really just a jiffy in the kitchen — is a Thai-style crab omelette that is wonderfully fluffy and surprisingly savoury, lifted up by a citrusy tang.
Try it and enjoy the sheer indulgence of something so simple yet so good.
THAI-STYLE CRAB OMELETTE
Since there are so few ingredients, do get the best ingredients possible. Use the freshest eggs you can find, for example.
Continuing in this vein, freshly squeezed lime juice will add some zest to your omelette.
Of course, not all ingredients can be fresh: I find even canned cooked crab meat to be very decent too.
Fish sauce by its very nature is a fermented product. Fermentation is what gives us both the pungency and umami we desire in our crab omelette, albeit in the form of subtle flavour notes.
Don’t forget aromatics and some heat: garnishing with some finely sliced spring onions and red chillies will prevent your crab omelette from feeling too rich. Although, to be quite honest, this will still be an absolutely decadent dish!
Ingredients
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
A pinch of ground white pepper
200g cooked crab meat
Neutral cooking oil, for frying
Finely sliced spring onions and red chillies, for garnishing (optional)
Method
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, fish sauce, lime juice and ground white pepper. Whisk the mixture until all the ingredients are well mixed.
Now you may add the crab meat to the egg mixture, folding it in gently so you still have some discernible lumps of crab meat.
Heat a wok over high heat. Add enough oil that the omelette will "float” on the surface, somewhere between shallow frying and deep frying.
Once you notice swirls on the surface of the oil but before it starts to smoke, carefully pour in the egg mixture to avoid any unnecessary splattering.
Once the omelette begins to set, about 30 seconds, flip it and allow the other side to cook as well, about another 30 seconds.
When the omelette is ready, remove from the heat and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. This will absorb any excess oil which would make the omelette soggy rather than fluffy.
Transfer the now cooler (but still warm) omelette to a serving dish and garnish with finely sliced spring onions and red chillies, if desired.
For more Weekend Kitchen and other slice-of-life stories, visit lifeforbeginners.com.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
