{"id":17387,"date":"2015-03-14T14:32:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T13:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=17387"},"modified":"2015-06-19T10:52:02","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T08:52:02","slug":"chawan-mushi-japanese-egg-custard-with-grilled-eringi-mushrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=17387","title":{"rendered":"Chawan Mushi (Japanese Egg Custard) with Grilled Eringi Mushrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chawan_geringi\"I have written so much about this Japanese savoury custard, I don’t really know where to start… \u00a0I am still under its charm\u00a0and my recently bought\u00a0steamer set increased the frequency of my chawan mushi meals. Thanks\u00a0to its incredible lightness, no matter how often I have chawan mushi, I don’t need to feel guilty, count calories or cut down on fats…\u00a0\u00a0I simply enjoy it,\u00a0playing with its ingredients as much as I want\u00a0and share\u00a0with you my most successful experiments, such as this one.<\/p>\n

Mushrooms are\u00a0among my favourite chawan mushi ingredients.\u00a0If I have a choice among cultivated (the only ones\u00a0available in spring), I would almost always pick eringi (also called king oyster mushrooms), which have a subtle taste and a meaty texture. I must have made at least a dozen\u00a0of chawan mushi with them before realising I could improve immensely both the taste and the aroma by simply grilling them beforehand. Since the first time I tried this method I have never got back to “raw” version and I’m sure all the chawan mushi and\/or eringi lovers would share my view.<\/p>\n

For those who hear about chawan mushi (\u8336\u7897\u84b8\u3057)\u00a0for the first time, it is a\u00a0light savoury egg and stock custard, steamed in individual cups. Chawan means “tea cup” and “mushi” \u00a0stands for “steamed”. I have fallen in love with it not only because it’s delicious and extremely light at the same time, but also because it’s one of the most versatile dishes I imagine. I have never managed to source\u00a0the ingredients necessary to make\u00a0the traditional version, but almost all the version I make up end up delicious. I definitely prefer it made with chicken or vegetable stock rather than the Japanese dashi. (The chicken stock version was suggested by renowned\u00a0Shizuo Tsuji in\u00a0\u201cThe Japanese Cooking. A Simple Art\u201d<\/a>, the source of this custard\u00a0recipe, so I\u00a0feel entitled\u00a0to say this without feeling I spoil it).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some\u00a0proofs of my big passion for this fantastic dish and, as you see, for these particular cups because I love them so much I cannot make myself use any other model… (the shrimp chawan mushi photograph was taken before I bought them):<\/p>\n

\"Chawan<\/a>
Chawan Mushi (Egg Custard) with Asparagus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Shungiku<\/a>
Shungiku no Chawan Mushi (Egg Custard with Chrysanthemum Leaves)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chawan<\/a>
Chawan Mushi with Shrimp and Green Peas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Chawan<\/a>
Chawan Mushi with Chicken and Thai Basil (Horapha)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chawan<\/a>
Chawan Mushi with Chanterelle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

TIPS: You can make this custard only with eringi or reduce their amount and add some chicken breast (marinate its bite-sized pieces in sake, if possible, for ten minutes). I often do it.<\/p>\n

As I have mentioned above, I prefer by far chicken stock rather than Japanese seaweed and dried bonito dashi, but you can use whichever you prefer. Obviously, homemade chicken stock is the best here since, contrary to more elaborate dishes, you do feel its taste clearly here.<\/p>\n

Even though chawan mushi is easier to prepare in a steamer, Shizuo Tsuji\u2019s suggestion to use a water bath in the oven gives excellent results, if you don’t have a steamer. (I have been preparing it for years in the oven).<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a nearby Japanese grocery shop, individual, but high heatproof cups may be difficult to get. First, I found very good ones at IKEA (even though without lids, which can be substituted with tightly wrapped aluminium foil), but as soon as I got hold of the beautiful Japanese chawan mushi cups you see above, I stopped using the old ones. You can also use ramekins or mini-souffl\u00e9 dishes, tightly covered with aluminium foil of course..<\/p>\n

Chawan mushi can be served with a salad and bread (or rice and pickles) as a light main course, but it\u2019s also a fantastic starter, a delicious breakfast\u00a0or\u00a0snack for any time of the day.<\/p>\n

Chawan mushi can be reheated in a microwave. Depending on the ingredients it will lose more or less of its flavours, but it’s still delicious and handy as a quick snack or breakfast.<\/p>\n

Mistuba is the traditional herb used in chawan mushi. It goes perfectly practically with every version of this dish, but if you cannot get it, use green onion, chives or any fresh herb that you like (or nothing).<\/p>\n

A pinch of turmeric is my own invention. It doesn’t really change the taste, but it does bring a yellower hue if your eggs are pale (quite normal at this time of the year…). I haven’t added it here, but if you want to make your chawan mushi brighter, try adding turmeric.<\/p>\n

I find taberu rayu <\/a>(thick chilli and garlic oil) a perfect company for chawan mushi, so if you like hot dishes, I advise putting some of it on top (or actually any chilli oil).<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Special equipment:<\/em><\/p>\n

individual heatproof cups (at least 6 cm high, mine were 6,5 cm high, with a 7,5 cm diameter) with lids or without lids + aluminium foil to cover them<\/em><\/p>\n

Preparation: 45 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ingredients (yields 4 cups):<\/em><\/p>\n

1 tablespoon oil\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

300 g\/about1\/2 lb eringi mushrooms (or 200 g eringi and\u00a0<\/em>150 g chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces, then marinated in sake for ten minutes)<\/em><\/p>\n

salt, freshly ground pepper<\/em><\/p>\n

(a pinch\u00a0of turmeric)<\/em><\/p>\n

(mitsuba leaves or green onion or other fresh herbs)<\/em><\/p>\n

Custard:<\/em><\/p>\n

2 eggs<\/em><\/p>\n

300 ml\/about 10 oz homemade chicken stock or, if you are a vegetarian, a vegetable stock or\u00a0<\/em>dashi<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>the Japanese stock<\/em><\/p>\n

1\/4 teaspoon salt<\/em><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon sake or mirin (with mirin the custard will be slightly sweetish)<\/em><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon soy sauce<\/em><\/p>\n

Preheat the oven to 220\u00b0C (or prepare your steamer).<\/p>\n

Slice the eringi. Cut bigger\u00a0sliced\u00a0into bite-sized pieces.<\/p>\n

Heat the oil in a pan or on a grill and quickly grill the slices on both sides.<\/p>\n

Season with salt and pepper.<\/p>\n

Put aside.<\/p>\n

If you use the hot water bath method boil a lot of water and prepare a big baking dish at least as high as the heatproof cups.<\/p>\n

Mix the eggs very delicately in a bowl. In another bowl combine the chicken stock, salt (it depends on how salty your stock is), sake\/mirin and soy sauce. Pour the stock mixture over the eggs and stir well, without beating.<\/p>\n

Divide the mushrooms and the chicken breast\u00a0equally into the four cups.<\/p>\n

\n

Strain the custard mixture and pour into the garnished cups (make sure there is at least 1 cm free space at the top because the custards will slightly rise).<\/p>\n

Cover the cups with aluminium foil or the lids if you have special cups with lids.<\/p>\n

If you use the oven, place the cups in a big baking dish. Fill the dish with hot water (not boiling). The water should arrive up till 3\/4 of the cups\u2019 height.<\/p>\n

Put the dish in the oven and let the custards bake for 15-20 minutes until they are wobbly but already set.<\/p>\n

If you use a steamer, steam for about 20\u00a0minutes. Check with a toothpick if the custard is set below the surface.<\/p>\n

Garnish with fresh herbs.<\/p>\n

Serve hot or cold with bread\/toast for breakfast, with a salad for a lunch, as a snack or as a starter. If you like chilli, I find chawan mushi excellent with chili oil (especially the Japanese thick chilli oil: taberu rayu<\/a>).<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have written so much about this Japanese savoury custard, I don’t really know where to start… \u00a0I am still under its charm\u00a0and my recently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,185,77,82,20],"tags":[45,201],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17387"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17387"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17747,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17387\/revisions\/17747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}