Chawanmushi

There is this great little Japanese restaurant that our family has been going to for years; Shira Nui. When you order your food, they present you with an assortment of side dishes such as miso soup, pickles and a small, steaming ceramic tea cup of steaming hot chawanmushi. This is a quick version of that delightful Japanese egg custard.

Chawanmushi recipe

Ingredients

Japanese style - 1 serve

Egg: 1
Dashi: 1/2 cup (Japanese bonito stock)
Cooking sake: 1 teaspoon
Soy sauce: 1/2 teaspoon
Flavouring: You can use anything really from prawns, pork mince, mushrooms etc. You only need 1-2 tablespoons worth

Improvised style - 1 serve: This is if you don't have dashi or cooking sake

Egg: 1
Chicken stock: 1/2 cup (Japanese bonito stock)
Shaoxing cooking wine: 1 teaspoon
Soy sauce: 1/2 teaspoon
Flavouring: You can use anything really from prawns, pork mince, mushrooms etc. You only need 1-2 tablespoons worth

Method

Set a pot of water on the stove to boil. You only need an inch or so of water as this will be used to steam the chawanmushi.
Whisk the egg, dashi (or chicken stock), cooking sake (or Shaoxing cooking wine) and soy sauce until well incorporated.
Add flavouring pieces to the bottom of the chawanmushi cup (e.g., small pork meat balls, prawns). If you don't have chawanmushi cups, you can use ramekins or any other small, heatproof bowl.
Steam over a gentle heat for 12 minutes or until the chawanmushi is set when you only observe a slight wobble when it is moved. You may want to have the steamer lid slightly ajar to regulate how gentle the steaming process is. Alternatively you can use a tea towel inside the steamer lid to capture excess steam and prevent condensation.