Local name: 茶碗蒸し
Savoury egg custard steamed in a cup, scented with kombu and shiitake dashi, holding mushrooms and edamame.
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Fierce steam boils the egg and pits it with holes. Prop the lid open to hold the temperature under 90C. Kombu and shiitake dashi stands in for bonito dashi here, which makes the dish vegetarian.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
The sieve catches the chalazae, the white cords that anchor the yolk, along with any lumps of poorly beaten white. Those are exactly what leave firm specks in a custard that should be perfectly smooth. Skimming the bubbles afterwards finishes the job.
Here it is three eggs to 450 ml of liquid, roughly three parts dashi to one part egg. More dashi and the custard will not set; less and it turns firm like an omelette instead of quivering under the spoon.
The cold soak gives a clear, gentle dashi. If you are in a hurry, heat the kombu and dried shiitake in the water until it just begins to tremble, then lift the kombu out before it boils, or it releases bitterness and a slippery texture.
Learn to make dashi without bonito, tell the forms of tofu apart, and build a Japanese vegetarian meal from small plates.
From Egyptian ful to Costa Rican gallo pinto and Turkish menemen, why so many cultures greet the morning with warm, savoury, protein-rich dishes.
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