take 3 eggs, a dash of dashi, pinch of salt, sprinkle of usukuchi soy sauce, some sasami chicken meat, throw in some shrimps and mushrooms, a few slices of kamaboko, mitsuba, and yuzu peel and voila! with a little bit of japanese patience and tender loving care, you have what is known as chawanmushi. not to everybody's taste, japanese egg custard is about taking the art of custard making and infusing the magic of savoury delights to the palette of the tongue. if you like egg and custard, this may or may not be the dish for you. but hey! how can you pass judgement on something if you haven't tried it? (HINT HINT: SEE RECEIPE BELOW)

Making egg mixture

• Break eggs in a large ball. Draw the letter Z on the bottom with the tip of the chopsticks, do not foam.
  
• Little by little, add cooled dashi and then salt, soy sauce.
  
• To improve texture, strain egg through a net.
  

Filling

• Remove white sinewy tissue from sasami chicken meat. Cut into bite size pieces. Sprinkle with soy sauce.
  
• Remove black vein from shrimps. Devine except for tail. (see "seafood preparation")
  
• Remove roots of shimeji mushrooms, tear into easy to eat pieces.
  
• Cut mitsuba (trefoil) into 3cm pieces.
  
• Thinly slice peel of yuzu.
  

To make
1. Prepare 4 Chawan mushi serving cups. If serving cups with lids are not available, use tea cup covered with aluminum foil.
2. Divide fillings into 4 except for mitsuba and yuzu strips, neatly place filling and kamaboko slices in individual cups.
3. Pour in egg mixture.
4. Fill a double-boiler pan (mushiki) half full with water.
5. When water comes to a boil, place cups in to steam.
6. Cover with cheesecloth, place lid slightly off so that steam can escape.
7. Heat 1-2 minutes on a strong fire, reduce heat and cook for an additional 12-15 minutes. If the fire is too strong or if steamed too long, Chawan mushi becomes spongy, loses flavor and attractiveness.
8. Insert bamboo stick to check readiness. If clear liquid rises Chawan mushi is ready.
9. Take cups out of steamer. Top with mitsuba and yuzu, re-cover.
10. Chawan mushi is served chilled in summer, hot in winter.