The very basics of Chawan Mushi is getting the eggs to set in a smooth and silky consistency. It’s not an easy task to do sometimes because the surface of the Chawan Mushi may sometimes get distorted due to moisture or air bubbles. I love eating Chawan Mushi because it’s such a comfort food. You can never go wrong with it especially if you’re feeling a little blue.
In most Japanese restaurants, Chawan Mushi is served with bento sets and it’s filling may vary from having gingko beans, to shrimps, to chicken to thinly sliced fish rolls. No matter how it’s served, it is the texture of the eggs that makes eating Chawan Mushi a very smooth and pleasant experience. It’s not exactly hard to replicate Chawan Mushi at home. In fact, many people do it. The only thing is perfecting it and practice makes perfect!
Here’s a basic Chawan Mushi base where you can add whatever toppings or fillings you want.
Method:
1. Lightly beat eggs, salt, soy sauce and dashi. Make sure you do not overbeat the eggs of you’ll have a less smooth and possibly hardened steamed chawan mushi.
2. Strain the egg mixture over a sift.
3. The egg mixture is now ready for use. To cook, put the egg mixture along with the other fillings onto a steamer and steam for approximately 20minutes. Your chawan mushi should turn opaque and jelly-like in texture.
Nigiri is another type of sushi where the rice is hand pressed instead of rolled out with a nori sheet. While it may seem like the simplest thing to do, it is actually not so simple. Correct pressure and size of the rice roll is crucial in making the perfect nigiri. And some sushi chefs takes years to perfect this skill.
If you apply not enough pressure while pressing your rice, your nigiri sushi will fall apart before you could even pick it up, but if you apply too much pressure, you’ll feel like you’re eating mochi. Either way, it just wouldn’t do.
Here’s a very useful video of making Nigiri demonstrated by some very generous people who put it up on YouTube.
Every mythic hero normally has an equally mythic weapon. Zeus had his thunderbolts. Thor had his hammer, Mjolnir. King Arthur had his Excalibur. Frodo and Bilbo had their Sting. Rhydderch Hael had his Dyrnwyn. King Kong had his bananas…you get the idea. It’s time for you to join the ranks of the heroes and heroines of lore as you wield your own legendary weapon in your battle against a very powerful foe: hunger.
So they say. Why would I want a spork? Because it’s like a fork AND a spoon, it cannot get any better than that. Oh wait, it can, it’s made out of titanium so it’s light weight and hardy. No more bending cutleries from tough meat, my friend. Only Titanium Sporks win this time!
Look at how sleek this kitchen is! It looks like a complex technological lab but we are assured that it is very simple to use. Check out their website for full information: Gorenje. This kitchen is a perfect combination of function and design - form full of function, it seems.
Ok ok, it’s just pancakes when i meant “western style”. Why the hassle of making elaborate dorayakis or okonomiyakis when you can have simple pancakes made in your own kitchen? You can get all the ingredients from a Japanese store except maybe blueberries whcih can be a bit expensive. But feel free to use bananas if you like or any other berries you can get your hands on.
This pancake recipe is a no fail recipe that will always give you fluffy pancakes :)
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
a pinch of salt
1 egg
1 cups of milk
Optional: blueberries.
Method:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add milk and eggs. Whisk until batter is smooth.
2. Heat pan under medium heat and add a bit of butter.
3. Take 1/4 measure cup to scoop up the batter and pour into the heated pan.
4. Add your blueberries (frozen is fine too) now and cook the pancake for 2 minutes on each side. Or until it is brown around the edges.
5. Serve with butter and syrup.
Watching them making mochi the traditional way is entertaining and educational. It looks hard but that’s how Japanese ancestors have been making mochi to celebrate the new year for hundreds of years. And as always mochi = happy faces :)
This is a great cooking demonstration for vegetarians and vegans. I’m not vegetarian and the tofu looks VERY good to me. I think you can find all the ingredients relatively well in Japan. Enjoy!
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