Chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard with prawns)
35 min · 20 g protein · 148 cals / serving
A cup of the softest, wobbliest savoury custard you can imagine, made from egg and smoky dashi and steamed so gently that it trembles on the spoon. Hidden inside are a sweet prawn, tender chicken and shiitake, and a few scallion slices float on top. It is eaten hot with a spoon, as a starter or a light meal.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups water, lukewarm
- 1 tsp dashi granules, or 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) cooled homemade dashi
- 2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce, light soy if you have it
- 2 tsp mirin
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- 8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 oz chicken breast, in small pieces
- 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
To serve
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced, or mitsuba leaves
Steps
- Dissolve the dashi granules in the lukewarm water with the soy, mirin and salt, and let it cool to room temperature. Beat the eggs gently with chopsticks, without making foam, then stir in the dashi. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve.
- Divide the prawns, chicken and shiitake between four heatproof cups or ramekins (about 1 1/4 cups each). Pour the egg mixture over and pop any bubbles on top with a toothpick. Cover each cup with foil.
- Set the cups in a steamer over simmering water (or in a lidded pan with 2 cm / 1 inch of barely simmering water). Steam on the lowest heat that keeps steam coming, with the lid slightly ajar, for 18–22 minutes (smaller cups, 4–6 of them, take 15–18 minutes).
- The custard is done when it wobbles as one piece and clear juices, not raw egg, rise where you push in a toothpick; the chicken and prawns inside will be cooked through. Top with the scallion and serve hot.
Good to know
Why is mine full of holes?
The heat was too high. The water should barely simmer; keep the lid ajar so the steam is gentle, and the surface stays glassy smooth.
No steamer?
Use a deep pan with a folded tea towel on the bottom and a lid. Or bake the cups in a water bath at 300°F for about 30 minutes.
Can I make a bigger meal of it?
Serve it beside rice and a salad, or make one large custard in a shallow dish and steam it for 25–30 minutes.
Per
- Calories
- 55
- Protein
- (56%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (37%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (7%)
- 1 g
- of which sugar
- <1 g
- Fiber
- <1 g
- Sodium
- 192 mg
About 40% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
More breakfast
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 592 kcal goes into the pot and 1175 g of ingredients comes out as about 1080 g of food: 55 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.