Of Chawanmushi and Dashi
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Chawanmushi – Delicate, and light as a cloud, with a deep umami flavour. A good chawanmushi is a simple thing, and like many simple things, you need to understand some finer points to get it right.
This is my recipe for chawanmushi, using quail eggs, instead of chicken eggs. Compared to chicken eggs, quail eggs have relatively large, rich yolks, and delicate whites. They fit right into what a chawanmushi should be – light and fluffy, but with an subtle richness. I get my quail eggs from Uncle William.
A chawanmushi is more about technique, than a recipe. To get that super light and delicate texture, you need to remember a few points :
- it’s a mixture of dashi stock and egg. More dashi than there is egg. I use a 2:1 ratio. The more dashi you add, the lighter and more delicate the result is, but beyond a point, it might not set. I am comfortable with 2;1, I have seen recipes as high as 3:1
- pass the beaten egg through a sieve, so the lumpy bits are removed
- steam covered, and under low heat – the steaming water should be simmering, not bubbling away like you do for steaming fish
About Dashi
You are going to need egg, and ideally, home made dashi stock :
The picture above shows the quail eggs, and a bowl of dashi stock I made – the first stock, or ichiban dashi. I also show the basic ingredients for making the simplest dashi from scratch – dried kelp seawood (kombu) and bonito flakes. There are many recipes online for making ichiban dashi, and I shall have to leave you to it. Ichiban dashi is a very light and delicate stock, full of umami. I think this is something you need to have tasted, before you can make it. You need to know where to aim. It is sometimes served as a simple soup with perhaps, a slice of poached fish, as the first course in (expensive) Japanese meals. This is to demonstrate the chef’s skill in achieving deliciousness with simplicity.
That said, there is a lot of good instant dashi out there. You can buy in as granules, or as a concentrate. Don’t let this bit stop you from trying this recipe.
Recipe
Ingredients (for one)
- 5-6 quail eggs, to yield about 50g of beaten egg, without shell. This is equivalent to one chicken egg.
- 100 ml (2 times of egg) dashi (home made, or instant)
- seasoning as needed – about a teaspoon each of light soya, sake and mirin
- fillings – can be mushroom, prawn, chicken, japanese fish cake
Mise and Prep
You need to crack the quail eggs out into a bowl
If you have never cracked a raw quail egg before, its can be a tad hard. Quail eggs do have a thick membrane for something so small. I smack a small knife into the shell of each egg and draw it across the egg, to cut through the membrane. Then I break the shell apart.
Beat the eggs:
Pour the egg over a fine sieve, and let it draw through – the lumpy bits will be left behind.
You are now ready to make the egg mixture. Taste your dashi and season it (yes, before you add it to egg, don’t taste raw egg). Since dashi can vary a bit, I cannot give exact measurements – instant dashi might be pre-seasoned Weight the egg mixture (it should be about 50 g) and add to it twice the weight of dashi.
How, grab a Japanese style teacup (or some vessel relatively tall and narrow, not a bowl) and fill it with whatever goodies you feel like :
In this case, it’s fresh prawn and (rehydrated) dried scallops, then fill pour in the egg-dashi mixture. Do this gently so as not to form any bubbles.
Cook
Set up a steamer, but don’t turn the heat too high – the water should be simmering, and hardly bubbling. If you are into thermometers, the temperature you want in the covered steamer is about 80 deg C.
Cover the cup. It your cup does not have a cover, then use foil or cling wrap. Place it in the covered steamer. It will take about 15-20 minutes. If you want to have something pretty, like a prawn on top, you need to add that after 15 mins and let it steam few minutes more (slice the prawn thin).
Eat!
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