Chawanmushi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し,Chawanmushi, literally "tea cup steam" or "steamed in a tea bowl") is an egg custard dish found in Japan that uses the seeds of ginkgo. Unlike many other custards, it is usually eaten as an appetizer. The custard consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin, with numerous ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko, and boiled shrimp placed into a tea-cup-like container. The recipe for the dish is similar to that of Chinese steamed eggs, but the toppings may often differ.

Chawanmushi can be eaten either hot and cool. When udon is added as an ingredient, it is called odamaki mushi or odamaki udon.

Unusual for a traditional Japanese dish, it is commonly eaten with a spoon.