Chawan-Mushi Lunch and Off to Portland

Chawan mushi... one of my favorite things to eat that reminds me of my childhood. This is a rather traditional appetizer in Japan that you tend to find at Ryokan restaurants, weddings and other formal occasions. I have been so silly thinking that I can't just make it and eat it on a normal day. I can! It's such an easy, laid-back, affordable dish to make and it's just so tasty. It's basically steamed egg soup with dashi. It's a savory soup version of egg pudding. You can have it hot or cold and top it with any veggie, meat or seafood you like. Try it. You'll like it!


I've been keeping myself busy today brewing wheat tea, making chawan-mushi for lunch and getting ready to fly to Portland tomorrow morning. I am one of the 20+ food bloggers and writers who are invited by Travel Oregon to this unique and exciting weekend event. I can hardly wait! They have organized a bunch of amazing events like rafting, fishing, learning how to make chocolate/tea from the masters, wine tasting, beer tasting, dining at local restaurants, etc... basically all kinds of fun things to do while you are visiting Oregon! I'll be sharing my 3-day experience after the trip, so make sure to visit me here again if you are interested in learning about fun activities and great food in Oregon.

Mugi Cha is an iced roasted barley tea that everyone loves in Japan. It's a tea made out of barley, which means it's caffeine-free.  It's a must-drink to survive the heat during summer. You should be able to find thing at any Asian grocery stores or special tea shops. Or make your own, which I didn't do myself for this post.



Recipe:

Chawan Mushi (makes 4 small bowls)

3 eggs beaten
2 cups of dashi (you can substitute this with vegetable, chicken or seafood soup)
4 shrimps boiled/streamed slightly
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
8 ginnan/ginkgo 
8  edamame beans
a small handful of enoki mushrooms (optional)

Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in a cup of water over night. Add it to dashi. Click here for dashi recipe or you can just use 1 cup of vegetable, chicken or seafood soup stock.

Boil some water with a pinch of salt. Boil shrimps(skin off), ginnan, edamame and enoki mushrooms slightly for a minute or so. Transfer them into cold water for blanching.

Beat eggs well and mix with dashi soup gently ( make sure soup isn't hot, otherwise it'll cook eggs). Strain it with strainer and pour it into cups. Make sure to get rid of the bubbles if you want them to look good. Add boiled ingredients and sliced shiitake into the custard soup.

Fill the steaming pan with 2/3 of the water and boil it for steaming. Place the cups into the steamer and steam for 2 minutes on med-high heat. Turn the heat down to medium and steam it another 10-15 minutes.