Chawanmushi with Shrimp 海老の茶碗蒸し

• Gather all the ingredients. Feel free to replace the ingredients with any seasonal ingredients.
  

To Prepare the Ingredients

• In a small bowl, put 2 dried shiitake mushrooms and 3 Tbsp water and rehydrate for 15 minutes. When the shiitake becomes soft, squeeze the water out and slice them thinly. Tip: This liquid is shiitake dashi that you can use as a part of your ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock) in this recipe. To do that, strain the shiitake stock (to remove any impurities), and add more dashi until you get ½ cup total.
  
• Make a knot in each stem of 4 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley), if you are using it. Divide all the ingredients into the individual cups. I start with small pieces of ½ boneless, skinless chicken thigh, the sliced shiitake, 4 ginkgo nuts, and ½ package shimeji mushrooms. Then, put 4 slices kamaboko (fish cake), 4 shrimp, and the mitsuba on top (the colorful ingredients should be at the top).
  

To Make the Egg Custard Mixture

• Whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) in a medium bowl. Add ½ tsp mirin, ½ tsp usukuchi (light-colored) soy sauce, ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock). Mix well together.
  
• Then, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. This helps making a silky texture.
  
• Pour the egg custard mixture into the prepared cups. Instead of covering the ingredients completely with egg, leave some ingredients exposed so chawanmushi will look nice. Remove any air bubbles with a spoon or bamboo skewer. Put the chawanmushi lids on (or tightly cover with foil).
  

To Cook the Chawanmushi

• Prepare a pot and lid that fits your chawanmushi cups. Add enough water to the pot to go halfway up the chawanmushi cups (but don‘t add the cups to the pot yet). Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to the LOWEST setting. Gently place the chawanmushi cups inside the hot water (it should not be boiling) and cover the pot with the lid. Cook for 25–30 minutes on the lowest heat. If you are not adding shrimp and/or chicken, the cooking time should only be 15–20 minutes. Insert a skewer in the center of the custard to see if the egg is done. If clear liquid comes out, it‘s done.
  

To Serve

• Serve warm with 2 pieces uni (sea urchin) and 2 Tbsp ikura (salmon roe) on the side (optional). Place one of each on top of the chawanmushi right before you eat.
  

To Store

• You can keep the leftovers in a chawanmushi cup and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat, steam for 2 minutes.