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.
Chawan Mushi is a much loved Japanese savory 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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)
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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.
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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.
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Once water is cooled, add eggs. Beat lightly with a whisk. Strain into another bowl.
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Bring a large pan of water to boil. Place a steaming rack in the pan. Reduce heat to medium low.
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Divide asparagus, shrimps, and fish sticks between 2 egg cups or ramekins. Slowly pour the egg mixture evenly between the two chawan mushi egg cups.
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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.
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Remove and serve immediately.
NOTE: This post was updated on October 23rd, 2013 with new pictures.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
What an intriguing specialty! I would love to try it – sounds wonderful with asparagus and shrimp!
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.
That looks so good! I love Japanese food.
Sounds very delicious!
Wow such a beautiful dish…thanks a lot for sharing the new and tasty dish..wil try to prepare it…
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.
Delicious..Sure everyone will enjoy the surprise hidden under 🙂
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.
Biren…your egg custard looks delicious, so smooth and silky…love it! Great great pictures!
By the way, thank you for stopping by 😉
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!
looks awesome….and love the spoon…!! where did u get the spoon from?
I love steamed eggs!! This looks so good!
@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 🙂
I just love chawan mushi. Certainly the kind of dish one could come home to!
That looks so good! I love japanese food!
What a wonderful dish with the surprises hidden inside! These look like quite a special treat to eat!
wow that indeed is a tempting dish. looks so ceammy…eating this must be a treasure hunt.
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
Looks delicious!
http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com
Great post! It looks delicious and intriguing… treasures within!
Congratulations on being top 9 on fbuzz!!
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 😀
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!
This looks amazing… Never heard of this before.