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Home / Courses / Appetizer & Snack / Chawan Mushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard)

Chawan Mushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard)

By: 👩‍🦳 Linda · Published: 🖨 April 19, 2010 · Updated: 💻January 30, 2020 · 🗨 26 Comments

Recipe ▼

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal.

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal. | RotiNRice.com

Chawan Mushi is a much loved Japanese steamed egg custard. It is often homemade and also found in good restaurants where they are made in limited batches. To produce a smooth custard, it has to be steamed at a low temperature. Rapidly boiling water will cause the egg custard to puff up and collapse when removed. This will produce a “rough” custard.

Filling in Chawan Mushi

The fun part about eating Chawan Mushi is discovering the “treasures” hidden in the custard. A lot of times what is inside the custard cannot be seen until you dig in. The filling can be as simple as diced chicken meat and kamaboko (steamed fish cakes), or as luxurious as scallops, shrimps, ginkgo nuts, and shiitake mushrooms. I have even used dried scallops which gives the custard a really sweet flavor.

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal. | RotiNRice.com

Savory steamed Egg Custard

Savory steamed egg custard is fairly common in East Asian cuisine but this Japanese version in individual cups is such a delight! It is normally served as an appetizer and is to be savored slowly.

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal. | RotiNRice.com

I have made this Chawan Mushi many, many times and each time it is a little different. Today, I have decided to use three ingredients you can easily find at your local grocery store – asparagus, shrimps, and fish sticks. You can substitute with pre-cooked chicken, mushrooms, scallops, carrots, and whatever takes your fancy. Do give it a try.

Similar Tools Used in Making This Chawan Mushi

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

TENMOKU-KARAKUSA 2.8in Small Bowl with the Cover
COLORED-TOKUSA 3.1 in Small Bowl with the Cover
NASHIJI-LINE Jiki Japanese Porcelain Set of 4 Small BowlS with the Cover
Gosu Blue Lines 3.1inch Set of 2 Small Bowls with covers

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal. | RotiNRice.com
5 from 1 vote

Chawan Mushi

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal.
Author : Linda Ooi
Course : Appetizer
Cuisine : Japanese
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings : 2
Calories : 125kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 sticks asparagus (trimmed and cut diagonally into 2½-inch pieces)
  • 4 medium shrimps (peeled and deveined)
  • 1 piece surimi fish stick (cut diagonally into 4 pieces)

Egg Custard

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ cups slightly warm water (360ml)
  • ½ tsp dashi
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp mirin
  • 2 tsp soy sauce

Instructions
 

  • Bring a small pot of water to boil. Lightly salt the water and cook asparagus for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and drain. Add shrimps and cook until they curl and turn pink. Remove and drain.
    Chawan Mushi-7
  • Place 1½ cups (360ml) warm water in a medium sized bowl. Add instant dashi and salt. Stir to dissolve. Add mirin and soy sauce. Set aside to cool.
  • Once water is cooled, add eggs. Beat lightly with a whisk. Strain into another bowl.
    Chawan Mushi-8
  • Bring a large pan of water to boil. Place a steaming rack in the pan. Reduce heat to medium low.
  • Divide asparagus, shrimps, and fish sticks between 2 egg cups or ramekins. Slowly pour the egg mixture evenly between the two egg cups.
  • Carefully place egg cups or ramekins into the prepared steamer. Cover cups with chawan lid or aluminum foil if using ramekins. Place cover on steamer and steam on low heat for 15 minutes or until eggs are set.
    Chawan Mushi-9
  • Remove and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @RotiNRice or tag #RotiNRice

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal. | RotiNRice.com

Impress your friends with Chawan Mushi, a comforting and silky smooth Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup. It makes a lovely starter to any meal. | RotiNRice.com

NOTE: This post was updated on October 23rd, 2013 with new pictures.

Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎

Biren

1.4K shares

Categories: 🗂 Appetizer & Snack, Asian, Egg & Tofu Tags: 📋 Japanese

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Comments

  1. 5 Star Foodie says

    April 19, 2010 at 1:57 pm

    What an intriguing specialty! I would love to try it – sounds wonderful with asparagus and shrimp!

    Reply
  2. Mother Rimmy says

    April 19, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    Biren, you amaze me! Your pictures are fabulous and the food is delicious. I love the idea of not knowing what will be in your custard until you bite into it.

    Reply
  3. Rick says

    April 19, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    That looks so good! I love Japanese food.

    Reply
  4. Noelle says

    April 19, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    Sounds very delicious!

    Reply
  5. Kamalika says

    April 19, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    Wow such a beautiful dish…thanks a lot for sharing the new and tasty dish..wil try to prepare it…

    Reply
  6. luvtoeat says

    April 19, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    What a perfectly cooked and beautifully presented dish Biren. Everytime I steam eggs I don't have the patience so I turn it on high (shame on me) so not surprisingly mine always turn out all bumpy and ugly, nothing like your beautiful smooth custard. Thank you for showing me how rewarding a little patience can be. I'll have to try this recipe sometime. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  7. Gulmohar says

    April 19, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    Delicious..Sure everyone will enjoy the surprise hidden under 🙂

    Reply
  8. bunkycooks says

    April 19, 2010 at 7:26 pm

    That is a really interesting dish. I am not very familiar with Japanese food, so it is great to learn about something new. Thank you for sharing this post.

    Reply
  9. Juliana says

    April 19, 2010 at 9:02 pm

    Biren…your egg custard looks delicious, so smooth and silky…love it! Great great pictures!
    By the way, thank you for stopping by 😉

    Reply
  10. denise @ quickies on the dinner table says

    April 19, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    5 stars
    I love chawan mushi – the only egg dish I enjoy! The ones we get at Japanese restaurants here are not very imaginatively prepared and I tried making it at home once but it didn't come out as soft as I like it. I will definitely try your recipe – looks fantastically tender and so smooth!

    Reply
  11. Turmericnspice says

    April 20, 2010 at 2:23 am

    looks awesome….and love the spoon…!! where did u get the spoon from?

    Reply
  12. Cindy says

    April 20, 2010 at 3:08 am

    I love steamed eggs!! This looks so good!

    Reply
  13. Biren says

    April 20, 2010 at 4:44 am

    @5 Star Foodie – This is one of my favorites. You can add all kinds of seafood and vegetables into the dish.

    @Mother Rimmy – Many thanks for your lovely comments. The hidden treasures are one of the joys of this dish 🙂

    @Rick – Thank you.

    @Noelle – Thanks!

    denise@quickies on the dinner table – The texture of the custard depends on the ratio of egg to water and the steaming temperature. Once you get this right, the rest is pretty easy 🙂

    @Kamalika – Thanks!

    @luvtoeat – Thank you and yes, this dish requires a little patience. It's well worth the effort 🙂

    @Gulmohar – Thank you.

    @bunkycooks – I have also learnt a lot from visiting other blogs 🙂

    @Juliana – Thank you for your lovely comments. You are most welcomed, and I will definitely visit your blog from time to time.

    @Turmericnspice – Thanks! I got the spoons from Tokyo and Kyoto.

    @Cindy – Thanks for visiting and for your kind comments 🙂

    Reply
  14. Anonymous says

    April 20, 2010 at 4:46 am

    I just love chawan mushi. Certainly the kind of dish one could come home to!

    Reply
  15. Cherine says

    April 20, 2010 at 8:03 am

    That looks so good! I love japanese food!

    Reply
  16. Cinnamon-Girl says

    April 20, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    What a wonderful dish with the surprises hidden inside! These look like quite a special treat to eat!

    Reply
  17. Sayantani says

    April 20, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    wow that indeed is a tempting dish. looks so ceammy…eating this must be a treasure hunt.

    Reply
  18. Debinhawaii says

    April 21, 2010 at 5:17 am

    I saw the title of your post on the Top 9 and had to come look. I love chawan mushi but have never tried making it. Yours looks delicious! I'm feeling lazy though so I may need to get some for lunch tomorrow at a restaurant I like that makes a good one 😉

    Aloha,

    Deb

    Reply
  19. Padhu says

    April 21, 2010 at 8:06 am

    Looks delicious!
    http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com

    Reply
  20. Casey Angelova says

    April 21, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Great post! It looks delicious and intriguing… treasures within!

    Reply
  21. Turmericnspice says

    April 21, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    Congratulations on being top 9 on fbuzz!!

    Reply
  22. bendibenri says

    April 22, 2010 at 10:10 am

    yummmm! I love this dish. I don't eat it enough though and have never tried to make it. Can't wait to give it a go. cheers for this 😀

    Reply
  23. Sortachef says

    April 22, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    Wow, that looks amazing. My family and I love great egg dishes, and this is surely one of them. We'll be trying this for sure. Thanks!

    Reply
  24. Spoon and Chopsticks says

    September 11, 2010 at 2:52 am

    This looks amazing… Never heard of this before.

    Reply
  25. Daniel Houts says

    March 15, 2018 at 6:44 am

    Can I use homemade dashi instead of water and instant dashi? I can’t have the added MSG that is in instant dashi

    Reply
    • Linda says

      March 17, 2018 at 5:37 pm

      Yes, you certainly can. Here is my homemade dashi in case you need it –> Dashi Stock. It is the second recipe on that page.

      Reply

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My grace is sufficient for thee…
2 Corinthians 12:9

Hi, I’m Linda! I make quick, easy meals, and spin on classics and old favorites with focus on Malaysian, Chinese, and American cuisines. Read more →

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