Monday, February 07, 2005

I'm Lazy -Chawan-mushi and store-bought sushi-

I would have been really proud of myself if I had made all these, but no, I bought these at a nearby supermarket.


Chawan-mushi (Steamed egg custard)

I heard that many non-Japanese people have problem with this chawan-mushi, because it looks like custard pudding but actually not sweet at all and instead has strong dashi flavor. Sometimes things like chicken pieces and shrimp are hiding inside. So you’ll really have to forget about custard pudding and see this chawan-mushi as something totally different.


Cheap, not-so-tasty sushi on sale

They didn’t taste very good, but I was just too hungry.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Obachan, what is chawan-mushi made of? 

Posted by Jonny

Anonymous said...

Hi Jonny,
Basically, eggs, dashi stock, and soy sauce (+sake?). And you can add things like chicken pieces, shrimp, crab meat, shiitake/matsutake mushrooms, yurine, ginkgo nuts, kamaboko. It's a nice side dish for winter season : ) 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

Hey.. Obachan,
Chawan-mushi was the reason i fell in love with Jap food.. :)  

Posted by MrsT

Anonymous said...

That's what I need - a recipe for chawan-mushi. I've heard of it but never knew how to spell it. Is it hard to make? 

Posted by Annie

Anonymous said...

> MrsT --- Oh, really? Glad to know that chawan-mushi isn’t so unpopular outside Japan.

> Annie --- Sorry, I’ve never made it myself, so I don’t know. Maybe seasoning is not too difficult, but making smooth and silky custard might need some technique… I heard it’s important not to steam it too long. 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

my paternal grandmother's and my mother's versions differ. This is, as far as we know, an old-fashioned traditional Southern Chinese dish.  

Posted by Jennifer

Anonymous said...

Hi Jennifer,

Really? Chinese dish? So, maybe our chawan-mushi originally came from China. I wonder what people put in the "steamed egg custard" in other countries... 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

In HongKong, they have neighborhood diners devoted to waat daan (smooth egg) and steamed ginger milk which you can imagine really hit the spot when HK gets chilly. I think steamed food is better for your skin.
 

Posted by Jennifer

Anonymous said...

Obachan, what kind of food do you make at the izakaya? Will you ever show us? =) -foodpocket 

Posted by foodpocket

Anonymous said...

> Jennifer --- Smooth egg and steamed ginger milk!! Sounds like a divine combination to me! Oh I’d love to have tons of steamed food for my skin.

> foodpocket --- Well, I don’t think I’ll be allowed to bring in my digital camera to the Izakaya kitchen, but I can make some of their menu at home ---not exactly the same way, but something close, maybe. OK. I’ll post about it sometime soon.
 

Posted by obachan

Yum-e said...

Hello Obachan,

:) I just bought some chawan mushi from Marukai and I can't read the label! It comes premade in a little plastic container but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to microwave it or not. :(

Do I take it out then microwave it? Do I crack the plastic lid a little? And how long? :( I think it's 2 minutes but I can't be sure.

thanks

obachan said...

Hello Yum-e,
It's nice that you can buy chawanmushi over there.
Sorry I can't tell you how to microwave it unless I actually see the container and the instruction on the package. Perhaps the safer way is (assuming that the container is the same as the ones we have here) boiling. This is the alternative method commonly found on that kind of chawanmushi packages over here. Make some hot water in a pot and place the chawanmushi as in the plastic container without opening the lid, and boil over LOW heat for apx. 15 minutes. The hot water in the pot should cover the top of the chawanmushi container. I hope this doesn't cause you any trouble. Let me know if this worked or not.