Quote Originally Posted by badger View Post
have you ever tried "chawan mushi"? it's a similar Japanese dish but the custard bit is very smooth. Most often there's pieces of chicken (or shrimp or no meat), gingko nuts, some sort of aromatic leaf like cilantro (but it's not) and maybe a slice of shiitake mushroom.

I haven't had it in years and like you it's comfort food from my childhood. You can buy it pre-made from Fujiya to heat up in the microwave, or you can go to Shiro on Cambie/W. 15, they make pretty decent ones.
chawan mushi:

one egg
3 to 4 TBS of chicken stock (prefer consomme)
bite size piece of chicken breast (don't use leg or thigh too much fat)
small shiitake mushroom sliced thin use fresh or reconstitute in minimal amount of water and save the water.
pinch of two or three celery leaves

for best result remove as much fat as possible.

method:

beat the egg. mix in the stock and beat some more. try not to incorporate too much air into the mixture. If you used dried mushroom, you can mix stock and the water used in the rehydration of the mushroom. Just make sure you are only using 3TBS to 4TBS of liquid total. Too much liquid and the custard will not set.

drop the meat into the bottom of the chawan mushi ceramic cup(can be a straight sided coffee mug) drop the shiitake slices into the cup, add the egg mixture then drop in the celery leaves. put the ceramic lid on top (or use an aluminum foil over the coffee mug)

steam gently for about 10-15 minutes.

too gentle and it will be runny. increase heat and continue to steam until custard forms. Should be very soft consistency

steam too hot and the custard will be very hard and the consmme will separate out. Also the custard will have lots of air bubbles. next time reduce heat.

Will double check on the amount of stock used tonight.