PROJECT Serving Chawan Mushi

Oct 18, 2024 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Tabletop

PROJECT: Serving Steamed Foods Piping Hot

This PROJECT is about serving chawan mushi, a dish that requires heatproof cups to cook the egg custards in and to bring them piping hot to table.

Because Japan’s food culture places importance on the presentation of food, often specialized tableware is chosen. Indeed, for serving steamed foods there is a vessel called 蒸し茶碗 mushi-jawan (steam + cup), one of several pieces of tableware that is lidded to keep foods piping hot. The lids that are part of mushi-jawan vessels, however, are placed on the cups as they come from the steamer; they are not used during the cooking process.

Chawan mushi custards are best served in lidded mushi-jawan vessels though they could also be cooked and served in other handle-less cups such as ramekins or choko 猪口.

If your cups do not have lids you will need to hold the custards hot for a few minutes after steaming them. The easiest way to do this is by setting a piece of parchment paper over each cup, carefully balancing the paper on the rim. Place a saucer or other small flat plate on top of the paper to anchor it. Using foil to keep the cups warm is not recommended since condensation easily forms on the underside and drips down on the custards, pockmarking them.

 

To learn more about chawan mushi and to download a recipe for the savory, steamed egg custards visit my Kitchen Culture blog and read my October, 2024 newsletter.

PROJECT Springtime Sweets

PROJECT Springtime Sweets

洋菓子・yōgashiWestern-Style Confectionery Japan's food culture includes ingredients, techniques and dishes that have been adopted and/or adapted from non-Japanese sources.  One large category is confectionery. Earliest influences were from the Portuguese in the 16th...

Celebrating Sakura

Celebrating Sakura

The Japanese take great pleasure in celebrating the seasons and SAKURA (cherry blossoms) are emblematic of spring. From the time buds (tsubomi 蕾) first appear to the official pronouncement of blooming (kaika 開花) it is often less than a week. And from there to...

PROJECT Temari Sushi

PROJECT Temari Sushi

This KITCHEN PROJECT  features temari-zushi, bite-sized spheres of tart rice topped with various ingredients. HINA MATSURI is celebrated on March 3 and during the weeks leading up to it, and for several weeks thereafter, scattered chirashi-zushi and/or temari-zushi ...

Cooking Cloth

Cooking Cloth

Cloth is the work horse, and often unsung hero, of the kitchen. In the Japanese kitchen, cloth enables the cook to perform a wide range of tasks such as lining steamers, draining and straining, enveloping, and shaping.Cloths known as fukashi nuno 蒸し布 are used to line...

Recent Posts & Projects