Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Japanese Chawanmushi Savoury Egg Custard
日式茶碗蒸
Recipe overview
Japanese Chawanmushi Savoury Egg Custard is a Japanese savoury steamed egg dish: chawan means cup and mushi means steamed. A roughly 1:3 egg-to-dashi mixture is strained, combined with safely pre-cooked chicken, shrimp and mushroom, then gently steamed until smooth, tender and fully set; it is not Chinese steamed egg, tamagoyaki or sweet pudding.
01
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 200 g shelled—intact shells, in date eggs, about
- 160 g—refrigerator-thawed, 1.5–2 cm pieces Boneless chicken thigh
- 120 g—thawed, deveined, dried medium shrimp, about
- 80 g—stemmed, 5 mm slices; mitsuba 20 g optional fresh shiitake,
Egg custard liquid
- 600 ml, Japanese soy sauce 2 teaspoons, mirin 2 teaspoons, salt 1/4 teaspoon Dashi
Chicken pre-seasoning
- 1 teaspoon, mirin 1 teaspoon Japanese soy sauce
02
Tools
- heavy-based pot or wok
- heavy-based pot or wok
- wooden spoon or spatula
- wooden spoon or spatula
- large bowl
- small bowl
- measuring cup
- tablespoon
- teaspoon
- knife
- cutting board
- tongs
- food thermometer
- heat-resistant gloves
03
Steps
Step 1
Check chicken
Thaw fully in refrigerator; reject odour, slime, discoloration or icy centre; never rinse raw chicken.
Step 2
Cut chicken and shrimp
Cut chicken 1.5–2 cm; thaw, devein and dry shrimp, rejecting ammonia smell.
Step 3
Slice mushrooms
Stem and slice shiitake 5 mm; cut mitsuba 3 cm using separate clean tools.
Step 4
Pre-cook chicken
Heat with soy, mirin and little water until exterior turns cooked.
Step 5
Pre-cook shrimp
Heat with little water until just opaque.
Step 6
Check eggs
Crack each into a small bowl before combining.
Step 7
Beat lightly
Stir with chopsticks 20–30 seconds without foam.
Step 8
Strain custard
Add warm or room-temperature dashi, soy, mirin and salt; strain finely.
Step 9
Divide fillings
Share chicken, shrimp and mushrooms among four cups.
Step 10
Pour slowly
Fill to 80% along cup edge, remove bubbles and cover.
Step 11
Steam gently
Steam 15–18 minutes over medium-low stable steam; chicken 75°C, shrimp 63°C opaque, custard safely set.
Step 12
Finish
Rest 2 minutes, add mitsuba and beware hot steam and cups.
Common mistakes
- Do not skip ingredient checks or doneness checks, and never mix raw and cooked food tools.
Tips
Do not skip ingredient checks or doneness checks, and never mix raw and cooked food tools.
