Silky cawan mushi

Is a complimentary side in most set meals in a Japanese restaurant. I thought I'd do the same when I prepare a Japanese dinner for the family. First, google the recipe. Surprisingly I got a really good recipe from a hongkong website which isn't really that weird if you think about it. After all, the Chinese water egg is almost similar.

So, in case this recipe is lost forever, I am going to reinvent it here with my additional quirks. Also makes it easier to refer in future. This is one of my pet projects.

Ingredients (will patch up with photo later) - enough for 5 small ramekins

2 cups of dashi* (a bit less is ok)

3 medium size eggs (the usual size eggs)

1/2 tsp sake

1/3 soy sauce (less if you have good grade thick soy sauce)

Salt to taste  (only if you find concoction is not salty enough. Otherwise omit.)

Aluminium Foil

1 spring onion chopped

Additional Topping** ( You don't have to if you don't want to. For over achievers and perfectionists)

*Dashi (You can refer here)

3 small knotted kelps or 1 sheet of kelp (konbu)

1 pack of bonito flakes (have 5 smaller packs)

2 cups of water (a bit more if you want to cater to evaporation and kiasu-ism. No harm making more.)

**Toppings

1 standard size prawn, clean devined chopped into little chunks (length of your bent middle finger if you wear S size gloves)

2 small shitake mushroom, soaked, squeeze, sliced thinly, stalk throw (size of a 20 cent coin, anything bigger can use just 1)

1/4 cup of water

1 tbsp sake

Salt to taste

1/3 tsp mirin (optional)

1/2 tbsp oil (for stir frying)

Step by step

1. Rinse kelp and bring to boil with water. Then put bonito flakes. Boil again until bonito flakes sinks. Overall should be about 10-20 mins.
2. Strain out kelp and bonito flakes. Can see here (step 2) 
3. Cool dashi to room temperature. This is important step else, dashi will cook egg and you will get dashi egg soup.
4. Beat eggs, slowing mix in dashi, sake and soy sauce. Sprinkle some salt if not salty enough.
5. Gentle pour egg mixture into 5 small ramekin bowls. You can use any steam-able bowl/cup as long as not too deep. Deep will make it harder to cook evenly. 
6. Poke out bubbles, however if you pour gentle, there should be no bubbles.
7. Put aluminium foil over each ramekin/bowl.
8. Boil water in steamer. Once it is boiling and steaming, reduce heat to very low.
9. Put ramekins/bowl into steamer and steam for about 15 minutes with that low heat (this is key to making it silky soft).
10. You can make additional topping (Step 12) now if you are good at multi tasking or someone can help you look after steaming cawan mushi.
11. After 15 mins, you can pry open an aluminium foil and check out eggs. They should be cooked. If you shake it gently, it should be jellylike texture. You can also use the toothpick test. Poke toothpick and it should come out clean. Otherwise let it steam a bit more. DO NOT OVER STEAM though. Once done remove.
12. To make toppings, saute mushrooms over oil until fragrant, add water, simmer until no more then put prawns with sake, salt and mirin, Saute until prawns are cooked.
13. Remove foil and arrange toppings on top together with spring onions. If you did not do additional toppings just put spring onion. If you don't even have spring onions, it's fine. It can be serve without it.

Overall should take you about 35 - 40 minutes excluding dashi cool down time.

Cawan Mushi is ready to serve.

Highest compliment from Cousin Bro - I make it even better than the restaurants around here.