Chawanmushi

What's this? Two posts in one day? How bizarre.

Studies show that eating a small snack at 3:00 will keep your metabolism up, which allows your body to burn more fat. The trick is to eat a small, healthy snack.

For my snack today, I made Chawanmushi, aka Japanese steamed egg custard, with chicken as my filling. The neat (and handy) thing about Chawanmushi is that you can put pretty much anything you want inside it. I like chicken, but you can also put shrimp, vegetables, soybeans, mushrooms--no limits! Whatever you have in your fridge. Depending on what you put in, though, you may have to cook it first. Shrimps will steam with the egg, but chicken definitely has to be cooked first.



You'll notice that Chawanmushi uses many of the same ingredients as Oyako-don. In fact, a lot of these Japanese dishes are built around the same sauce: dashi, soy sauce, and cooking wine. Egg is also such a useful ingredient because of its amazing versatility--fried, steamed, boiled. Always have eggs in your fridge!

For serving container, make sure you have two small heat-proof cups. I have two Japanese tea cups that I got for less than $2 each. Make sure you can pick it up and put it down with one hand. You'll also need a large stainless steel pot with a steamer, as well as a chopstick.

Timing is very important in this recipe. If you cook the custard on too high heat or for too long, you will overcook the egg and it will take on a bizarre, unappetizing shape. It will taste okay, but the texture won't be as smooth and it will be ugly. This recipe makes enough for 2, so it's perfect for date night :)



Chawanmushi

• 1 large egg
• 170mL dashi stock
• 1/2 tsp cooking wine
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• parsley (optional)

Filling: Whatever you desire. I used a 1/4 chicken breast cut into small pieces and browned in oil on medium heat. Whatever you use, make sure to drain off the oil or margarine that you cook it in, otherwise it'll rise to the top of your Chawanmushi for a nice layer of grease.

1. Beat the egg in a bowl. Add in the stock, wine, soy sauce, and salt. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
2. Divide the chicken evenly between the two cups. Pour the egg mixture into the two cups, again dividing equally.
3. Put the steamer into the big stainless steel pot and add water so that the level doesn't quite reach the top of the steamer. Cover and turn the heat up to high.
4. When the water boils, take the cover off. Gently place both cups on the steamer. It will be very hot in the pot, so I wear rubber dishwashing gloves for this step. Once they're in the pot, cover again with a chopstick wedged in-between the lid and the pot. This is very important, because it prevents the temperature from getting to high. Cook for 1 minute.
5. After 1 minute (and do not go over 1 minute) turn the heat down to its lowest or 2nd lowest setting. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. After 10 minutes, poke a skewer into one of the cups. It should come out clean, and the liquid that wells up in the hole should be clear. If it isn't, let it cook for another minute and check again.
7. Once the chawanmushi is done cooking, take it out of the pot and let it cool. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!

Makes 2 servings