Find your favourite small cups or bowls and make a savoury egg custard or two.
There is something marvellously calming about a savoury egg custard, with its seductive taste and silky texture – it seems to provide a Zen-like sense of wellbeing, lifting the spirits, easing the nerves and soothing an agonising hunger.
No savoury custard exemplifies this more than the Japanese version, chawan-mushi. Roughly translated as “tea-cup steam”, it is a dish of extraordinary simplicity and elegance.
I like my chawan-mushi to barely tremble when cooked, to be somewhere between a custard and a soup. This happens because as it gently steams away, all the other ingredients kindly give up their juices while the custard sets around them. Should you prefer to make firmer custard, simply add an extra egg to the recipes.
I cook them in special china cups that come with lids to keep in all the vapour and flavour, but I have also used some sake cups that I found in a Trade Aid store. Ramekins would be fine, too. Use a bamboo steamer or “steamer” saucepan fitted on top of another saucepan. As they cook, keep the steam temperature low, as this will avoid small air holes pockmarking the surface of the custard.
Dashi stock is the foundation of many Japanese dishes. Although it is made from dried ingredients and is ready to use in 10 minutes, there is nothing “instant” about the stock. It takes six months to prepare the flakes from the bonito fish. Bonito flakes and dried shiitake mushrooms are readily available from Asian grocery stores.
Dashi Stock
500ml water
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
15g dried bonito flakes
Heat the water and mushrooms in a small saucepan. Just before the water boils, add the bonito flakes, then turn off the heat. Leave the stock until the flakes sink to the bottom of the pan, then strain.
Makes 500ml.
Shiitake Mushroom and Soy Chawan-mushi
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
100ml water
a pinch of sugar
a splash of soy sauce
2 spring onions
300ml dashi stock
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sake
1 tbsp oil
Place the mushrooms, water, sugar and soy sauce in a small saucepan and simmer until the mushrooms are tender – about 6-8 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the liquid, then thinly slice them. Slice the green part of the spring onions on an angle, then mix with the mushrooms. Pour the dashi into a bowl, then add the eggs and season with salt, soy sauce, sugar and sake. Gently whisk with a stirring motion, but don’t let the mixture froth. If any forms, carefully mop it up with a paper towel, then discard.
Divide the mushrooms and spring onions in half. Divide one half of the mushrooms and spring onions between each of 4 small bowls or china cups, then carefully pour in the chawan-mushi mixture. Boil the water in a steamer and cook the ramekins until quivering – about 6 minutes. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and quickly sauté the remaining mushrooms and spring onions until crisp. Use this to garnish the chawan-mushi. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
In Japan, this method of cooking chicken is known as “white chicken”. Because the meat cools quickly in the ice, it remains dense and juicy. The cucumber adds a touch of crisp delicacy.
Chicken Chawan-mushi with Cucumber Salad
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp sake
salt
1 litre of water
a good quantity of ice, in cold water
Sprinkle the chicken with sake and salt, then marinate for 3-4 minutes. Bring the water to the boil, place the chicken in it, then return to the boil. Turn the heat off and let the breasts sit in the water for 10 minutes. Remove the breasts from the saucepan and plunge them into the iced water. Leave for 10 minutes to completely cool, then refrigerate until needed. Cut the chicken into small cubes.
Chawan-mushi
3 eggs
1½ cups dashi stock
salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sake
4 small dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted
½ cucumber
1 red or green chilli, seeded and chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
Break the eggs into a bowl and add the dashi stock, salt, soy sauce, sugar and sake. Gently whisk with a stirring motion, but don’t let the mixture froth. Should any form, carefully mop it up with a paper towel and discard. Remove the hard stems from the shiitake mushrooms and slice them thinly. Divide the mushrooms and cubes of chicken between each of 4 small bowls or china cups. Carefully pour over the chawan-mushi mixture. Boil the water in a steamer and steam the -ramekins until the mixture has just set and is still quivering – about 6-8 minutes. While the custards cook, slice the cucumber into thin matchsticks and toss gently with the chilli and sesame oil. When the custards are cooked, garnish with the cucumber salad. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Most Chawan-mushi should be served hot, however this one is just as good cold. It makes a great addition to a picnic basket. Add an extra egg and it may be turned out onto a plate for an elegant dinner party entrée.
Prawn Chawan-mushi with
Pea Shoots
Prawn Stock
1kg prawns, in the shell
50ml cooking oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic
125ml brandy
250ml white wine
250ml dashi stock
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Peel the prawns, then place the meat and shells in separate bowls. In a large saucepan heat the oil, then add the shells and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the brandy and reduce it until the liquid has almost gone, then pour in the wine. Cook for 3 minutes, add the dashi, tomatoes and thyme. Lower the heat so that the stock is barely moving, then cook for 30 minutes. Strain the stock into a bowl and discard the solids.
Chawan-mushi
3 eggs
375ml prawn stock
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sake
prawns from the above recipe
salt
pea shoots, to garnish
Gently mix the eggs with the stock, then add the fish sauce and sake. Remove any foam (as above). Bring a pot of salted water to a simmer. Dice the prawns and briefly immerse them in the water for 1 minute, then drain. Sprinkle the prawns with a little salt and divide between each of 4 ramekins or bowls. Pour the chawan-mushi stock over the prawns. Boil the water in a steamer and steam the ramekins until the mixture has just set but is still slightly wobbly – about 6-10 minutes. Garnish with pea shoots. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.