Japanese Comfort Food - My friend Yoko from Japan, directed me step by step on how to make this dish. We were served this several times while we were there. Chawanmushi literally means "tea cup steam" or "steamed in a tea bowl". It is a Japanese egg custard. Chawanmushi can be eaten either hot, cold or room temperature.
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Yields: 4 Servings
Ingredients
3 eggs
2 cups (480ml) Dashi
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Sake
1 tsp Mirin
2-4 shrimp, sliced into 2 pieces each if big
1-2 shiitake mushroom, sliced
Mitsuba leaves or green onion, chopped (optional)
Directions
1Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix the shrimp with 1/2 tsp soy sauce and 1/2 tsp Sake. Let them sit for a couple of minutes.
2Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix eggs, Dashi, salt, 1 tsp soy sauce, and Mirin together. Strain the egg mixture through a sieve. Let as much egg as you can go through the sieve.
3Place 1/4 amount of shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms in each of 4 small cups (such as ramekins), then pour egg mixture over them to fill 3/4 of a cup. Cover with aluminum foil and put the covered cups into a steamer.
4Steam at medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Check with a wooden skewer to see if it's done. If clear broth comes out when poked, take the cups out from the steamer.