If you can't already tell, we're huge fans of Japanese food. And one Japanese dish that we often make is chawanmushi, which translates to "steamed in a bowl". If you're not that familiar with this appetizer/side dish, it's a savoury steamed egg custard seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, and dashi, and contains ingredients like mushrooms, shrimps, and green onions. The result is an incredibly soft, silky smooth and savoury egg custard that's just so dang addictive!
There are so many variations of this Japanese savoury steamed egg custard dish. Usually, people use shiitake mushrooms for chawanmushi, but we used white mushrooms in our recipe since we prefer them better. You can also use other types of proteins, just make sure that it goes well with the dish! We suggest using chicken, scallops, or other seafoods. We used shrimps in our recipe and the flavours and textures blend really well with the dish!
Chawanmushi is usually eaten as a side dish, or as an appetizer, as part of a meal. But we also find they can be super delicious for breakfast or as a snack! It's hot, it's savoury, and it's light. I can literally eat three bowls of these steamed egg custards in one sitting.
One important ingredient that might be a bit harder to get a hold of is the dashi stock. It's basically a Japanese fish stock made with either dashi stock base (bonito stock base), or with bonito flakes. We used the dashi stock base in this recipe since it was easier for us to find at our local Asian supermarket. But you can also find the dashi stock base
and bonito flakes
online.
That's it for today's recipe, the easy and delicious chawanmushi, or Japanese savoury steamed egg custard! If you're also into Japanese food, make sure to check out the links below to our other Japanese recipes! We hope you enjoy the recipe, and as usual, happy eating!
Our other Japanese recipes:
- Japanese Souffle Cheesecake
- Beef Bowl (Gyudon)
- Crispy Japanese Fried Pork Cutlet (Tonkatsu)
- Crispy Chicken Teriyaki
- Tuna Mayo Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)
Ingredients
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 ½ tsp dashi stock base
- ½ tsp Japanese soy sauce
- 3 tbsp green onions chopped
- 3 medium shrimps chopped into cubes
- 3 white or shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
Instructions
- To make dashi stock, bring water to a bowl over high heat. Add the dashi stock base and mix well. Lower heat to medium and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let the stock cool to room temperature.
- In a bowl, beat eggs until runny and the egg whites are well mixed. Take about 1/2 cup of the beaten egg and transfer to a large mixing bowl. The rest of the eggs will not be used and can be preserved in the fridge for other uses. Add the dashi stock to the bowl containing 1/2 cup of eggs and mix well using a whisk. Season with soy sauce.
- Fill 5 small ramekins evenly with the mushrooms, shrimps, and green onions. Pour the egg and dashi stock mixture into each ramekin and cover each ramekin with aluminum foil. Steam over medium high heat for 15-18 minutes, or until the egg custards are firm and fully cooked.
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