I often find myself a bit peckish after dinner and for a great midnight snack I love a good Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) . I tend to make a few little cups at the start of the week so I have an easy snack on demand !

The key to a delicious Chawanmushi is all in the dashi, which is so easy to make. Link here: How To Make Ichiban Dashi !for the recipe. Otherwise you can substitute with chicken stock as well but I highly recommend making your own dashi!

Silky Smooth Chawanmushi recipe

The recipe gives you a basic Chawanmushi. You can layer on toppings as well, ginkgo nuts, mushrooms and bits of chicken are my go to.

Prep time : 10 min
Cook time : 20 min
Total time : 30 min

Makes enough for 4 small portions

You’ll need :

• 3 medium to large eggs
• 500ml dashi
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Mirin
• 1 teaspoon Sake
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce

Prep :

1.  Beat your 3 eggs well
2. Mix in the dashi with the eggs
3.  Add your salt, soy sauce, mirin and sake
4. Run the mixture through a sieve to ensure that the egg mixture is smooth
5. Ladle into ramekin cups or any other small cups that can withstand high heat, try and ensure there are no air bubbles
6. If you want to add toppings like crab meat, mushrooms, bits of chicken etc you can place them into the egg cups as well (optional)
7. Cover your cups with lids or use aluminium foil

Cook:

1. Prep your steamer by making sure the water is on high boil –  I add an inch and a half of water to my steamer and use a wire rack.
2. Once the steamer is ready, carefully place the egg cups inside and steam on low heat for around 18-22min. Everyone’s stove top and heat distribution works differently. I recommend checking your Chawanmushi from the 18 min mark onwards, and you’ll be able to get your own magic number as to when the Chawanmushi is ready . You’ll know it’s done when you tap the back of a teaspoon lightly against the egg and it bounces back.

Pro tip : I make a few cups and steam them all at once. Once they’ve cooled, I refrigerate them. To enjoy, I just pop them in the steamer on low heat for around 5 min. Keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days.

xx Kerri