Moshi moshi it’s chawanmushi time

I’ve recently noticed that this blog is slowly but surely turning into a food blog. To help with the transition, I’ve decided to bang out another post about cuisine; this time, Japanese. 

I moved to Japan when I was 23 literally because my love of sushi took me there but I quickly discovered an even more delicious delicacy (well, more than one actually): chawanmushi.

Fun to say and even more fun to eat, chawanmushi is an egg custard made with fish stock, sake, soya sauce, ginger and a cornucopia of fillings (my favourites being shrimps, scallops, asparagus and shitake mushrooms). 

I start by frying the fillings in some sesame oil and garlic, with a little salt and pepper. Once that’s done, I beat two eggs. Then I slowly add a cup of cooled fish stock, a splash of sake and a dash of soya sauce to the eggs. 

I carefully and evenly (!) separate the custard into dishes that can be cooked in and then eaten out of. Finally, I add the fillings to each dish.

To cook, I place the dishes in a saucepan filled with a generous bottom of boiling water and steam for about 15 minutes. At the end, I grate a little ginger on the top and then, itadakimasu, I enjoy.

Oishi desu!