Recipes
Truffle Chawan Mushi
This silky smooth Japanese steamed egg custard is easy to eat and versatile, as you can add all sorts of goodies to it.
SERVES 4
1 cups dashi (See the Glossary, page 178, for instructions on how to make dashi, or use instant dashi granules available from most supermarkets.)
1 teaspoons light soy sauce 1 teaspoons mirin
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
For the garnish:
1 teaspoon truffle oil
2 pieces shio kombu, cut into thin strips
DIRECTIONS
- Boil the dashi with the light soy sauce, mirin and salt for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
- In a medium bowl, very gently stir the eggs with chopsticks until blended, without incorporating too much air. This is to ensure a smooth-as-silk custard.
- Add the now cooled dashi to the eggs and mix gently once more. Then, strain the liquid into a jug.
- Pour the egg mixture into 4 ramekins or small bowls. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap and steam over medium heat for about 15 minutes. The custard is done when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The chawan mushi should be set but still a bit wobbly. If the chawan mushi looks grey or bubbly, instead of being pale yellow and smooth, it’s been overcooked.
- Drizzle each chawan mushi with teaspoon of the truffle oil (a little goes a long way) and sprinkle the shio kombu on top before serving.