Steamed Savory Egg Custard with Rice Flour Dumplings
Steamed savory egg custard, chawanmushi, is a popular traditional dish in Japanese cuisine. This recipe has rice flour dumplings, similar to gnocchi. Enjoy the mochi-like dumplings cooked in the egg custard broth with chicken and mushrooms.
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Rice flour is mild without an unpleasant scent or taste. It is a versatile gluten-free ingredient that works well with any cuisine.
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Japanese ingredients such as dashi, mirin, and sake can be purchased online or at Asian grocery stores.
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If there is no steamer in the house, use a large soup pot instead. Fill the pot with water to cover 1/2 the chawanmushi or ramekin cups. When boiling, remove from heat to place the cups covered with aluminum foil in the pot. Close the lid and turn the heat to low. Cook for 25-30 minutes when using 200 ml cups.
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All rice flour is naturally gluten-free. Make this dish completely gluten-free by using gluten-free substitutes for other ingredients as needed.
4-6 servings
Ingredients
For the egg custard
| 1½ cups (360ml) | water |
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| ½ teaspoon (1.5g) | dashi powder |
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| 1 teaspoon (5ml) | sake Japanese rice wine |
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| 1 teaspoon (5ml) | mirin |
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| ½ teaspoon (3g) | salt |
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| ½ teaspoon (3g) | soy sauce |
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| 3 | eggs |
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| 2oz/60g | chicken, sliced |
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| 2 (20g) | shiitake mushrooms, sliced |
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| mitsuba, flat leaf parsley, or cilantro leaves for garnish | |
For the dumplings
| ¼ cup (40g) | rice flour |
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| ¼ cup (60ml) | water |
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Directions
For the egg custard
In a bowl, combine dashi powder and water. Add sake, mirin, salt, and soy sauce. Mix well.
Whisk the eggs gently in another bowl. Strain the eggs through a wire mesh sieve into the broth. Mix lightly and set aside.
For the dumplings
In a bowl, combine rice flour and water. Heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until the mixture forms a dough. Divide the dough to make small balls, 1/3–2/3 inch (1-2cm) in diameter.
Bring the steamer to a boil.
In heat-resistant individual ramekins or small cups, distribute chicken, shiitake mushrooms, and the dumplings.
Pour the egg custard broth in each cup. Top with mitsuba, and cover each cup with aluminum foil.
Turn the heat down to low and cook in the steamer for 15 minutes. Turn off the steamer and let them rest with the lid on for additional 15 minutes. Serve.
- This recipe uses US customary units. Measurement equivalents include: 1 teaspoon = 5ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, and 1 US cup = 237ml or 8fl oz. (1 metric cup = 250ml or 8.5fl oz.)
- The cooking time using microwave oven in this recipe is based on 1,000W in the US.
- The temperature and baking time may be different depending on the oven used. Please adjust accordingly.
- All rice flour is naturally gluten-free. Make this dish completely gluten-free by using gluten-free substitutes for other ingredients as needed.