Silky Smooth Instant Pot Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard)
Servings: 8 of 4.5 oz ramekins
Learn how to make an amazingly smooth and soft instant pot chawanmushi loaded with all the savory goodness in your Instant Pot. Instruction with a regular steamer is included too.
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Ingredients
- 4 large eggs about 1 cup, (about 50 grams each egg)
- 2 ¼ cups ichiban dashi stock
Seasonings:
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 1/2-2 Tbsp mirin
- 1/2-2/3 tsp salt
Optional ingredients you can add to chawanmushi:
- 8 large shrimp peeled, deveined and leave the tail on
- 16 pieces shimeji mushrooms
- 2 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-size
- 3 oz surimi
Ankake sauce:
- 1 cup dashi stock
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- Salt to taste
- 2 tsp potato starch or corn starch mixed with 2 tsp cold water
Garnishes:
- 1 stalk green onion finely sliced at an angle
- Fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
Prepare egg custard:
- Break the eggs into a bowl and beat together thoroughly. Gradually add the dashi stock, stirring constantly. Then, using a fine sieve, strain the mixture into a large measuring cup with a pout (makes your life easier). It is important to strain the mixture or you will not get a silky smooth texture. Discard the lumps
- Add the seasonings to the mixture and stir to mix everything. Set aside
Assembling:
- Wash and cut the root off shimeji mushrooms. Arrange about 4 pieces of shimeji mushrooms (a mixture of different sizes is ok), 2-3 piece of chunks of surimi, 1-2 piece of raw chicken meat and sit the shrimp in the middle of the ramekin with its tail pointing up. Repeat with the rest of the ramekins
- Gently pour the egg mixture into the ramekins. Be careful not to fill it up all the way to the top, I'd say fill it up to about 3/4 of the dish you are using because the egg will expand during steaming
- Pop any air bubbles you see. Air bubbles will create a bumpy surface. Cover each ramekin with aluminum foil
Steaming with Instant Pot:
- Pour 1 cup of water into the inner pot of instant pot. Place the trivet in there. You need to steam in two batches. Carefully place the ramekins on top of the trivet. Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press "steamer" and the light shows "low pressure". Set timer to 10 minutes or 15 minutes if the size of the ramekins/bowls are bigger
- When the timer is up, you don't need to release pressure. Just wait for 5 minutes and then unlock the lid. Very carefully remove the ramekins from the pot
Steaming on stove-top:
- Bring some water in a steamer to a boil. Place ramekins inside the steamer and lower the heat to low. Steam for 30 minutes over lowest heat. It is important to steam over low heat to ensure the smooth surface and texture
Prepare the sauce while the custard is steaming:
- To make the ankake sauce, put the dashi in a saucepan, add the light soy sauce and mirin, and season with salt. Bring the dashi mix to a boil and add the potato starch and water mixture, to thicken
Serving:
- Carefully remove the plastic wrapper. Pour some ankake sauce on top of each one and serve immediately
Video
Notes
NOTES: It is very important to steam it on low heat to ensure a smooth texture.
