Japanese

Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard)

Name: Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese

Silky, savoury egg custard steamed in small cups with dashi, prawn and shiitake. A delicate Japanese starter that takes 30 minutes.

Serves

Prep

mins

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Ingredients

Pantry bits

Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)

Light Soy Sauce

Mirin (Japanese Sweet Rice Wine)

3 eggs
450ml dashi, cooled
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1/4 tsp salt
4 small raw prawns, peeled and deveined
2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 small mitsuba or flat-leaf parsley leaves, to garnish

Instructions

Whisk the eggs gently with chopsticks, cutting through the whites rather than beating in air. Stir in the cooled dashi, light soy sauce, mirin and salt.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug.
Divide the prawns and most of the shiitake between 4 small heatproof cups. Pour the egg mixture over and pop any bubbles on the surface with a toothpick. Top each with a shiitake slice.
Cover each cup with its lid or a piece of foil. Set in a steamer over simmering water, put the steamer lid on slightly ajar and steam on low heat for 12-15 minutes.
The custard is ready when it wobbles as one piece and clear liquid comes out when you poke it with a skewer. Add a herb leaf and serve hot.

About this dish

Chawanmushi translates as steamed in a tea cup. It's a savoury custard, much softer than a crème caramel, made with eggs and dashi and steamed gently until it just sets.

Two things give you a smooth, bubble-free surface: straining the egg mixture, and keeping the steam gentle. Too much heat makes the custard puff up and turn spongy.

Prawn and shiitake are the classic fillings, but chicken, kamaboko (fish cake) or ginkgo nuts all work. No lidded cups? Use ramekins covered with foil.