Japanese Steamed Egg Custard – Chawanmushi – Recipe

Baby-friendly and toddler-friendly for mothers

A great way to make eggs for babies and toddlers
No oils, soft texture
Easy to eat

Chawanmushi(茶碗蒸し) is a savory steamed egg custard from Japan. It has a soft, creamy texture while maintaining its body. Korea and China also have their versions of this favorite comfort food. Jaycob first tried this when he was 15 months old and he ate it so well. Now, it has become a highly-recommended dish for mothers to cook for their baby or toddler. It is delicious, clean, healthy and the texture is just right for them to swallow. Check out my other Korean-style steamed egg recipe.

Eggs, the superfood

Useful facts about the egg, it has:

77 calories
6 grams of quality protein
5 grams of healthy fat
and trace amounts of carbohydrates.

Eggs contain an amazing range of nutrients:

There are good amounts of selenium, vitamin A and Bs. Eggs also contain small amounts of almost every vitamin and mineral required by the human body, including calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, vitamin E, folate and many more. The nutrients are found in the yolk while the white contains mostly protein. A recent study showed that the good cholesterol inside an egg isn’t a cause for concern, as the body, which naturally makes cholesterol will slow down its process to balance out the cholesterol intake. Try to use free range eggs if you can.

Japanese Steamed Egg Custard Chawanmushi Recipe

The star in this dish is the egg.

My finished Chawanmushi Japanese Egg Custard

Keep it minimal, the highlight is the creamy egg!

Ingredients:

Serves 1

The fish stock
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tbsp of fish powderor about 2 tbsp bonito flakes

- 1 free farm egg
- 1 shrimp
- broccoli garnish
- carrot garnish
- 2oz(60ml) fish stock
- 1 tsp organic shoyu or low sodium soy sauce

I am using Sea Nature’s Fish Powder, 100% natural, made from 50% cod fish, 40% coal fish, 10% haddock. It is baby-friendly and an excellent source of calcium and omega-3 fatty acids. Great for building strong bones and cognition. You can also use traditional dashi from bonito fish flakes or vegetable stock too.

Instructions:

Make the fish stock (dashi) by combining 1 cup of water and 2 tbsp of bonito flakes and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes
Prepare ingredients - a small shrimp, a piece of broccoli and carrot
Whisk one egg with a tsp of soy sauce and 2oz of fish stock
Run the contents through a strainer into a small bowl
Cover the top with aluminum foil and steam for 8 minutes
Carefully remove the lid and add broccoli, carrot, shrimp and steam for another 8 minutes

Step-by-Step Guide:

boiled water in a sauce pan to make fish stock

Making Fish Stock – Bring water to a boil, toss in bonito fish flakes and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. With fish powder, you can take it off the heat right after.
Preparation – Chop ingredients that you will be using. In this case, one shrimp, a piece of broccoli and carrot. Chopped into small pieces.

Preparing the Egg –Whisk one egg with a tsp of soy sauce and 2oz of fish stock

Run the contents through a strainer into a small bowl – Before steaming, run the egg mixture through a strainer into another bowl. This will give the egg a silky-smooth texture.

Cover the top with aluminum foil and steam for 8 minutes – You can add other ingredients into it and steam the whole thing once. If want to have the ingredients sitting on top, slightly steam the egg first to get it firm. I prefer using foil to cover the bowl because it tends to have less water enter into the bowl while steaming.