Japan · 40 min · Meat · Starter · For confident cooks
Chawanmushi
In German: Gedämpfter Eierstich · In English: Savoury steamed egg custard
For 4 servings · US units
Steamed savoury egg custard with chicken, shrimp and shiitake
Chawanmushi is a savoury Japanese egg custard steamed in a cup, so soft that it barely holds together on the spoon. Beneath the smooth surface sit chicken, shrimp, shiitake, kamaboko and ginkgo nuts, with a few sprigs of mitsuba on top. The ratio of egg to dashi decides everything here — and it's an everyday dish that suits any time of year.
Ingredients
- 3Eggbeat without creating foam, then strain
- 2 cupsbase broth for the custard; shirodashi or instant soup base with water also usedJapan's basic stock, usually steeped from kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes: clear, lightly smoky, deeply savoury.Substitute: The closest stand-in is instant dashi in granules or sachets; it is usually saltier and a little flatter, so go easy on further seasoning. For a vegetarian version, soak kombu and dried shiitake in cold water. Chicken or vegetable stock is not a good substitute: it brings its own heavier flavour, and the dish no longer tastes Japanese.Read more
- 2 tspto season the broth, keeps the colour paleJapanese soy sauce (usukuchi) that is lighter in colour but saltier than the usual dark kind; "light" refers to the colour, not to lower salt.Substitute: Regular dark soy sauce in a slightly smaller amount, with a pinch of salt, matches the flavour but makes the dish darker.Read more
- 1 tspfor mild sweetness in the brothSweet Japanese rice wine for cooking that gives sauces and glazes a mild sweetness and shine.Substitute: Sake or dry sherry with some sugar, about one teaspoon per tablespoon, comes close; sweetness and shine are roughly right, but the rounded, slightly malty depth of mirin is missing.Read more
- 1 tspto marinate the chicken or season the brothJapanese rice wine, used in cooking mainly to round out flavours, tame fishy notes and add umami.Substitute: Dry sherry or Chinese Shaoxing wine come closest but bring their own stronger flavour; mirin is not a substitute because it is distinctly sweet.Read more
- ½ tspsaltdissolve completely in the broth
- 2¾ ozchickenthigh, breast or tenderloin, cut bite-size
- 4Shrimppeeled and deveined
- 2remove stem, slice or quarter; soak first if driedCaution: Eaten raw or barely cooked, shiitake can cause an itchy, streak-like skin rash in some people, so they should be cooked through.Fresh shiitake are sold in many supermarkets, and dried ones, often even better for broths and braises, are in any Asian grocery.Substitute: Fresh shiitake can be replaced with cremini or king oyster mushrooms, which are milder and less savoury; nothing quite matches the deep umami of dried shiitake in broths, and dried porcini come closest but taste distinctly different.Read more
- 4thin slices as fillingSteamed fish paste, shaped into a loaf on a small wooden board and cut into slices, firm, slightly springy and mild.Substitute: Other Japanese or Korean fish cakes such as chikuwa or narutomaki come very close in taste and texture, differing only in shape and look. Supermarket surimi sticks (crab sticks) are made from a similar paste but are softer, more fibrous and sweeter, so they work as a stopgap in soups but not as a cold garnish.Read more
- cut short, as filling and garnishJapanese wild parsley with three-part leaves and long, tender stems, fresh and slightly bitter, somewhere between parsley, celery and angelica.Substitute: Flat-leaf parsley with a little celery leaf comes closest in flavour, but tastes coarser and grassier; the cool, slightly resinous note and the tender stems are missing. There is no true equivalent, so use it sparingly so the parsley does not dominate.Read more
- 8pre-cooked or from a jarCaution: Ginkgo nuts contain a neurotoxin and should only be eaten cooked and in small amounts, with about ten a day generally regarded as the limit for adults and considerably fewer for children.The seed kernel of the ginkgo tree, shelled and cooked: jade-green to yellowish, soft yet slightly chewy, mild with a faintly bitter undertone.Substitute: There is no real substitute, since the combination of chewy bite, colour and quiet bitterness is not found elsewhere. Edamame supply the green and chestnut pieces some of the starchy texture, but both taste sweeter and different; in most dishes it is better simply to leave the ginkgo nuts out.Read more
Method
- Prepare the fillingsCut the chicken into bite-size pieces and season it with sake and salt or light soy sauce. Peel and devein the shrimp, remove the shiitake stems and slice or quarter the caps, cut the kamaboko into thin slices and cut the mitsuba short. If you are using dried shiitake, soak them first.
- Season and cool the brothStir the dashi together with the light soy sauce, mirin and salt until the salt has dissolved completely, then let the broth cool to body temperature.
- Mix eggs with brothBeat the eggs without letting foam form and mix them with the seasoned broth.
- Strain the egg mixturePass the egg mixture through a sieve so the chalazae and any bits of white stay behind.
- Fill the cupsDivide the chicken, shrimp, shiitake, kamaboko and ginkgo nuts between the cups and pour in the egg mixture carefully, filling them about three-quarters to four-fifths full.
- Remove bubbles and coverSkim off any bubbles on the surface or pop them with a skewer, then cover the cups with foil.
- Steam the custardSet the cups in the preheated steamer, start them briefly over high heat, then cook for 10 to 15 minutes over low heat. Wrap the lid in a cloth or leave it open a crack so no condensation drips down and the temperature doesn't climb too high.
- Test for donenessTest with a wooden skewer: if clear liquid rises and the chicken is cooked through, the custard is done.
- Garnish and serveLay the mitsuba on top, let the cups rest briefly covered and serve warm.
Tips and variations
If you like the shrimp especially tender, set them on the already-set surface after the main cooking time and steam them for only about three minutes more. The dashi can be steeped cold overnight with kombu and katsuobushi or made hot; a ready-made seasoning base works just as well, such as shirodashi with water or an udon soup base. Without a steamer, stand the cups on kitchen paper or a cloth in a pan or pot and pour in a few centimetres of water; a chopstick wedged between pot and lid keeps the heat down. In the microwave, cover the cup loosely with film, cook for three minutes at 500 watts and let it finish in the residual heat. Besides mitsuba, surimi crab sticks and spring onion make a good garnish.
Allergens
Contains: Eggs, Fish, Cereals containing gluten, Crustaceans, Tree nuts, Soybeans
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
