Chawanmushi is one of my all-time favorite Japanese appetizers and if you've ever had it at a Japanese restaurant, you might think it's complicated to make at home. But once you get the concept down, it’s surprisingly simple to make! Keep reading and I'll show you how.
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🍵What is Chawanmushi?
Chawanmushi is a delicate, silky-smooth Japanese egg custard that’s packed with savory, umami goodness. Made with dashi, eggs, and a variety of flavorful ingredients, this classic dish is steamed to perfection for a light and super satisfying bite.
The name chawanmushi literally translates to "steamed in a tea cup", as it's traditionally served in cute little teacups with lids. It's often enjoyed as part of a multi-course meal or an appetizer at high end sushi restaurants.
💖Why You'll Love this Recipe
There are many reasons to love this recipe but here are some of my favorites:
- Customizable: Don't like shrimp, want to make it vegetarian-friendly, or maybe you just want the egg custard by itself. Regardless, this recipe is super flexible and you can easily swap out any of the filling ingredients to your own liking.
- Simple: Chawanmushi is often seen as a very intricate dish to make and many people are intimidated by it, I know I was in the past. But this recipe keeps it simple and easy to make at home, with no special supplies or equipment needed.
- Impressive: Due to its “high-end” reputation, serving chawanmushi to your friends and family is sure to impress. Fair warning though, they're probably going to request it from you over and over again.
- Umami Bomb: Most importantly, it's just so freakin' good! It's like an umami explosion that's silky, smooth, and so satisfying.
🥚Key Ingredients
- Eggs: I like to use large eggs which typically are about 45-60 grams (without shell) each.
- Dashi stock: Ideally you want to make your own dashi stock (learn how with this video). However, you can use instant dashi packets if you want to keep it super simple.
- Soy sauce: Use usukuchi soy sauce which is lighter-colored compared to regular (koikuchi) soy sauce. This will help prevent the chawanmushi from darkening, which makes for better presentation.
- Kamaboko (Japanese fish cake): Though optional, kamaboko adds color, texture, and is also a great source of protein.
🦐Filling Ingredients
I like to use fairly traditional filling ingredients in my recipe, but as I mentioned earlier, chawanmushi can easily be customizable and you're free to use whatever fillings you'd like. Here are some that I recommend:
- Kani/Kanikama: If you're looking for a shrimp substitute, crab and imitation crab are both great choices that are readily available.
- Scallops: Another great alternative to shrimp.
- Fish: Though not as common, some white fish can also be used in chawanmushi.
- Uni (sea urchin): Make it upscale by adding some fresh uni on top, trust me, you will not be disappointed.
- Caviar: I like to use ikura (salmon roe) as a topping but you can bougie it up even more by adding white sturgeon caviar, or any other caviar of your choice.
- Edamame: Adds nice color and easy to find at almost any grocery store.
- Mitsuba (Japanese parsley): A very common and traditional topping for chawanmushi but not as easy to find in the States. I typically use green onion instead.
- Gin-nan (ginkgo nuts): Another very popular ingredient used in chawanmushi but is also difficult to find, at least in my area.
- Carrots: Adds nice color and great vegetable option. You can cut it with a flower or star shaped cutter for better presentation.
- Mushrooms: I prefer using shimeji mushrooms but you can easily swap them out with shiitake, baby bella, or even plain white mushrooms.
🍵Chawanmushi Cups
Chawanmushi is traditionally served in small cups with lids. While purchasing these cups will give you the most authentic experience, they’re not necessary. There are plenty of other, more affordable options that work just as well. I prefer using a set of teacups but you can also use coffee mugs or heat-safe ramekins.
The tea cup set that I have is currently unavailable but here are a couple more that are very similar and should work well for chawanmushi (tap on photo for more details).
If you are looking for traditional cups, here are some that I recommend:
🪄Tips and Tricks
- Measure the eggs: The egg-to-dashi ratio is very important in order to get the right consistency for chawanmushi. Therefore measuring out the eggs first will allow us to calculate the right amount of dashi needed. I use a ratio of 1 to 3, so three times the amount of dashi compared to the weight of the eggs (without shell). For example, if 2 eggs weigh 100 grams, then multiple that by 3 and you get 300, which is the amount of dashi we need (in milliliters). Use the metric measurements in this recipe, trust me, it'll make it much easier.
- Strain the egg mixture: After making the egg mixture, you want to strain it through a fine sieve which helps remove any stringy membranes (chalaza) or large clumps of the egg white. This helps get that nice silky, smooth texture.
- Bright colors on top: When assembling the chawanmushi, you want to add the colorful ingredients towards the top so that you can see it after it's been steamed.
- Pop the bubbles: Before steaming, make sure to pop any small bubbles that appear at the surface. You can do this by poking it with a small skewer or very quickly going over it with a kitchen torch.
- Keep lid slightly ajar: Leaving the lid slightly ajar while steaming will help maintain the correct temperature inside the pot, which should be between 175-195°F (80-90°C).
✍️Final Thoughts
Chawanmushi is a dish that's simple but can take a bit of practice to perfect. But as long as you follow the recipe below, you'll be making high-end, restaurant quality chawanmushi from home in no time! And don't get discouraged if it doesn't come out super silky smooth the first time around, trust me, it'll still taste amazing and it gives you an excuse to make some more!
🤔Common Questions
Carefully tilt the cup to see if the egg has set or not. It should be like a soft Jell-O texture without any of the egg being runny. You also want to check the color of the liquid, which should be clear.
There are a few key points that will help ensure your chawanmushi comes out silky smooth. First, make sure your egg to dashi ratio is correct. Secondly, strain the egg mixture through a fine sieve. Next, get rid of the small bubbles at the surface prior to steaming. Lastly, heat control and steam gently. Overcooking or using too high of a heat will often times make the chawanmushi porous.
Yes of course! The dashi can be made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or shiitake dashi. The filling ingredients can easily be vegetables or you can add some fried tofu in there as well.
You can easily make chawanmushi gluten-free by using gluten-free soy sauce. Just make sure to check all labels, especially if you're using instant dashi packets.
Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard)
VIDEO
EQUIPMENT
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Kitchen scale
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 Fine sieve
- 3 Small tea cups details above
- 1 Large pot with lid
INGREDIENTS
Egg Mixture Ingredients
- 2 Eggs large
- 1¼-1½ cups Dashi stock 300-360 ml
- 1 teaspoon Mirin
- 1 teaspoon Soy sauce usukuchi
- ½ teaspoon salt
Fillings
- 1 Chicken thigh boneless/skinless
- 3 Shrimp peeled/deveined
- 2 tablespoon Sake
- 2 ounces Shimeji mushrooms
- 1½ ounce Kamaboko Japanese fish cake
Garnish
- 1-2 Green onion
- 2 tablespoon Ikura salmon roe
INSTRUCTIONS
Preparing the fillings
- Trim any fat or bones off chicken and cut into roughly 1-inch squares. Marinate with 1 tablespoon of sake in a small bowl for about 10 minutes.
- Marinate shrimp with 1 tablespoon of sake for 10 minutes.
- Cut off the bottom of shimeji mushrooms and break it apart.
- Cut 6 thin slices of kamaboko.
- Dice the green part of green onion into thin slices for garnish.
Egg mixture
- Crack open the eggs into a bowl and weigh them. Take the weight of the eggs and multiply it by 3 to determine how much dashi stock we'll need. For example, if the eggs weigh 100 grams then 100 x 3 = 300, which is how many milliliters of dashi we'll need.
- Mix the eggs well but try not to create too much foam or bubbles.
- Add in the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and salt. Mix until the salt dissolves. *Note: if using dashi made from scratch, make sure that it's fully cooled before adding it in.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
Assembling
- Place chicken pieces at the bottom of each cup, making sure they're spread out rather than stacked on top of each other.
- Add shimeji mushrooms, followed by 1 shrimp in each, and 2 kamaboko slices.
- Give the egg mixture a light stir and carefully pour it into each cup, filling them about 80% full.
- Remove any bubbles on the surface using a skewer or by lightly running a kitchen torch over the top.
- Cover the cups with aluminum foil to prevent condensation from dripping in.
Steaming
- Fill a large pot with about 2-3 inches of water (enough to reach halfway up the cups).
- Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
- Carefully place the cups into the pot, cover with a lid, and leave a small gap for steam to escape. We want it to be at a constant light simmer with ideal temperature between 175-195℉ (80-90℃).
- Steam gently for 20-25 minutes until the custard is set and liquid is clear.
- When done, carefully take out each cup with a pair of tongs or heat safe gloves.
Garnish
- Garnish the top with green onion and ikura (salmon roe). Serve hot or warm with a small spoon.
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