Chawanmushi is a Japanese dish made by steaming eggs mixed with other ingredients in a cup or bowl until it forms a custard. Seafood, meat, and vegetables are added, and the dish is garnished with additional ingredients. Dashi and mirin are used for flavor, and the dish is served warm, hot, or cold.
Chawanmushi, meaning “steamed cup of tea,” is a Japanese dish that involves steaming eggs that have been mixed with other ingredients in a small cup or bowl until the mixture has formed a custard. The roe itself is often mixed with other liquids, such as fish stock and mirin. Seafood such as shrimp, prawns, crab, or kamaboko slices are usually placed in the cup or bowl before the egg mixture is poured in so that the ingredients slowly rise as the custard settles. When completed, the egg custard in the chawanmushi will have mixed with the liquids from the other ingredients and taken on a loose soup-like texture as opposed to the thicker texture some custards have. Once complete, the chawanmushi can be served warm, hot, or cold, and can be garnished with more seafood, carrot shavings, gingko nuts, or Japanese parsley leaves.
The basis for Chawanmushi is normally made up of three different types of ingredients. First, the eggs used will help the custard set, but they also need to be treated with care for the dish to cook properly. After being cracked into a bowl, the eggs should be beaten together to integrate the yolks and whites, but not so aggressively that a large amount of air is incorporated. This will keep the custard from rising quickly while steaming and overflowing the cup.
The second ingredient, known as dashi, helps define the flavor of the chawanmushi. Dashi is a stock that is usually made from seaweed or seaweed, sometimes along with cured fish. It can be added directly as a liquid, or dashi powder can be used so that the flavor develops as the custard cooks. Sake or mirin, a sweetened type of rice wine, is the last ingredient in the custard base; adds sweetness and enhances the taste of the other ingredients.
In most chawanmushi preparations, seafood or meat and vegetables are cooked with the custard and could also be used as a condiment or garnish once the cooking has been completed. Traditional additions include crab, shrimp, prawns, diced chicken, or slices of a type of pressed fish loaf known as kamaboko. Greens usually include sliced mushrooms, Japanese parsley, shallots, bamboo shoots, and nuts such as cashews. The ingredients are placed in the bottom of the cup or bowl to be used for steaming, and the custard is poured over the top.
To cook chawanmushi, the cups are placed in a steamer over medium to low heat. Cooking chawanmushi in a steamer that is too hot could result in overcooking the eggs and making the soup separate. After some time, the eggs will set and the seafood and vegetables will cook. At this point, the custard can be served warm or hot, or it can be refrigerated for serving at a later time. The top of the cup can be garnished with more seafood, ginkgo seeds, sliced carrots, or fresh herbs.
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