Growing up in Torrance, we would go to Japanese restaurants all the time. Whenever they would serve us chawanmushi, it would be my favorite part of the meal. Served in these little tea cups was this soft, delicate egg custard that broke apart when you put a spoon to it, giving way to silky steamed egg, and little delightful surprises, such as gingko nuts or pieces of seafood. The name, chawanmushi, comes from the term “chawan”, which means tea cup in both Japanese and Chinese, and “mushi”, which refers to a steamed dish or item. I always found it to be a really engaging dish, because every bite was just a little bit different. In terms of ingredients, chawanmushi can be quite simple. It is a steamed egg custard, made with eggs mixed with a stock of some kind. I went with dashi, to be more traditional, but even chicken or vegetable stock could work in a pinch! The part about this dish that can be challenging is steaming it. Cooking eggs can be very technical, since a minute over and you have scrambled or even hard-boiled, and a minute under and the egg can just fall apart. Another thing is making sure your cooking vessel is covered with cling wrap, or just in general, prior to steaming. Excess water going into the custard could prevent it from setting properly, rendering the edges overcooked and scrambled, or the middle completely raw. I use industry-grade plastic wrap, because it really helps seal out any excess liquid from interacting with your custard. You can also bake these in a water bath in the oven as well, at 325 degrees F for about 10 minutes if you do not own a bamboo steamer. In either case, so long as you get the custard to barely jiggle in the center, that’s what you’re looking for, and if you can get your custard to do that, then you’re golden.

For the garnishes, I went with buttered vegetables, because I wanted a component that contrasted the silky texture of the steamed eggs with some richness, crunch, and a little bit of acidity. Unlike most chawanmushi, this custard is all egg and dashi, meaning there are no other components baked into it. This was done just to remove any other variables in the steaming process. So that means that the vegetables really have to contrast the custard well. I started by making a rice vinegar-kombu butter, similar to a beurre blanc, just as a way to introduce the butter, acidity, and umami to whatever I pair it with. I went with a few different vegetables, being radishes, edamame, maitake mushrooms, and carrots. The radishes and edamame are gently poached in the kombu butter, just to keep them on the tender side. The maitake mushrooms are roasted in it, just to add a meatier texture. They have this gorgeous earthiness to them that I love, especially when they are roasted – roasting the butter on them allows the exterior to get really caramelized, while coating them in a mixture of tangy umami, so there’s a lot to love in that component alone. And the shaved carrots are tossed in the butter from raw, just so that the butter slightly heats them through, but also to keep one component crunchy and refresh. I went with these vegetables specifically because I love the combination of radishes, edamame, and mushrooms against an egg custard, while the carrot was another way for me to introduce texture into the dish, and I have previously seen carrots added to chawanmushi before. That and the carrots and edamame is like a fun play on carrots and peas, so you know, typical dinner vegetable staples.

For the chawanmushi:
150g egg
100g dashi(can be made with 2 tbsp instant dashi and 100g water)
2g salt

Heat up your dashi first in a pot, and then pour it over your eggs while whisking. Season with salt, and then strain the mixture to remove any lumps. Distribute the liquid across three ramekins, then cover each in cling wrap. Steam these in a bamboo steamer for at least 15 minutes on medium heat, or until the middle barely jiggles, then remove. Allow the custards to come down to lukewarm before removing the cling wrap.

For the rice vinegar-kombu butter:
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp kombu vinegar
2g kombu
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter

In a pot, heat up all the ingredients, sans butter, on low heat until the kombu is completely softened. Remove the kombu, pressing it to release any residual flavor. Then whisk in the butter until combined. Keep warm for the vegetables.

For the vegetables:
2 radishes, sliced very thinly
3 tbsp shelled edamame
1 bunch of maitake mushrooms
1 carrot, shaved into thin ribbons

Let the radishes and edamame sit in the kombu butter until soft. With the mushrooms, you will toss 1 tbsp of the kombu butter with them, and then roast them in the oven at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. With the carrot, simply toss them with the butter right before assembly.

To assemble:
Nasturtium flowers

Arrange the vegetables and the flowers on top of each custard.