Chawanmushi

A savoury custard steamed with the lid ajar, set just firm enough to hold a spoon's dent.

Chicken, Fish, Shellfish, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains chicken, fish, shellfish.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 480 ml dashi, cooled
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 150 g chicken thigh, in small pieces
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 8 prawns, peeled
• 4 ginkgo nuts
• 4 sprigs mitsuba

Method

1. THE RATIO IS THREE PARTS DASHI TO ONE PART EGG, by volume, and it is the whole recipe. More egg sets rubbery; less and it never sets at all. Measure the beaten egg and multiply.
2. STEAM WITH THE LID AJAR and the heat low. Trapped at full steam the custard boils inside and goes to honeycomb -- pitted, weeping and grey. A chopstick wedged under the lid is enough.
3. THE DASHI MUST BE COOL before it meets the egg, or it scrambles on contact.
4. Beat the eggs gently with chopsticks, cutting rather than whisking. Foam becomes bubbles set into the surface.
5. Dashi, soy, mirin and salt stirred into the egg, then STRAINED twice through a fine sieve. This is the difference between silk and slightly grainy.
6. Chicken, shiitake, prawns and ginkgo divided between four cups.
7. Pour the custard in slowly down the side of each cup, then skim any bubbles off the top with a spoon.
8. Cover each cup with foil. Into a steamer already at full steam, then IMMEDIATELY drop the heat to the lowest setting.
9. 12 to 14 minutes. It is done when a skewer slid in at the edge brings up clear liquid, not cloudy, and the surface holds a shallow dent.
10. Mitsuba on top and the lid replaced for a minute. Served hot, and good cold in summer.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes