Japanese Steamed Egg Custard – Chawanmushi – Recipe
Baby-friendly and toddler-friendly for mothers
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.
Keep it minimal, the highlight is the creamy egg!
Ingredients:
Serves 1
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:
Step-by-Step Guide:
- 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.
- Carefully remove the lid and add broccoli, carrot, shrimp and steam for another 8 minutes. Total steaming time of 15-20 minutes.
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