Chawanmushi
Savoury Steamed Egg Custard
Chawanmushi is an egg custard made with dashi rather than milk, so it is savoury, silky and barely set. It is eaten with a spoon, warm, as a small dish before the main part of a meal.
The magazine recipe mixes 3 eggs with 360 ml of cooled dashi made from kombu and bonito flakes, a little mirin and soy sauce, pours it into four ramekins, and bakes them in a water bath at about 165°C for about 30 minutes, until set but slightly loose.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 12 cm square of kombu
- 360 ml cold water
- 5 g katsuobushi (about 2 tbsp)
- 1 1/2 tsp mirin
- 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
- 3 large eggs
- Boiling water, for the water bath
Method
- Make the dashi Put the kombu and water in a small pan and bring to the boil, then lift out the kombu. Stir in the katsuobushi, leave for 5 minutes, strain through a fine sieve and cool completely.
- Mix the custard Heat the oven to 165°C (145°C fan). Whisk the mirin and soy sauce into the eggs gently, without making foam, then stir in the cooled dashi. Strain into a jug.
- Fill Divide the mixture among four ramekins and stand them in a deep roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin to come halfway up the ramekins.
- Bake Bake for about 30 minutes, until the custards are set at the edges and just wobble in the centre and are hot all the way through. Lift out carefully and cool for a few minutes before serving with a spoon.
Food safety
The custard is cooked until just set. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, and make sure it is hot all the way through, if serving anyone who is pregnant, elderly, very young or unwell.
Bubbles on the surface make a pitted custard. Strain, and bake gently.
Cover each ramekin loosely with foil if the top browns.