Chawanmushi (Egg and Shrimp) First Release

First, prepare the chicken and shiitake mushrooms. Cut 125 grams of chicken thigh meat into 1-centimeter square pieces, sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, mix well, and set aside to marinate. Compared to chicken breast, chicken thigh meat is not as sensitive to cooking time, so there is no need to pay special attention, making it more suitable for making chawanmushi.

Wash 2 shiitake mushrooms and pat them dry, remove the stems, and slice them into 2mm thick slices for later use.

Now start preparing the egg mixture for chawanmushi. Take a large glass bowl, crack in 2 eggs, and whisk them evenly with a fork. Try to whisk gently and slowly, as this can reduce the chance of incorporating air. If too much air is mixed into the egg mixture, bubbles will form when heated, causing holes inside the chawanmushi and affecting the appearance of the dish.

Add 280 grams of dashi to the beaten eggs and mix well with a fork. When stirring, try to be gentle and slow to reduce the chance of incorporating air. If using dashi powder, it must be dissolved in boiling water, not tap water, otherwise the dissolved gases, when heated, will create holes inside the steamed dish, affecting its appearance. Then add 10 grams of soy sauce, 10 grams of mirin, and 5 grams of sake, and mix well.

During the stirring process, some foam will inevitably form. The most effective way to remove this foam is to strain it, as the foam is mostly intercepted on the sieve. After straining, the egg mixture for chawanmushi is ready.

Take a lidded tea bowl, spread 1/4 of the diced chicken at the bottom of the bowl, then add 10 grams of ginkgo and 1/4 of the sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Pour 1/4 of the egg mixture into a teacup, and finally add a shrimp with the head removed, shell removed, but the tail kept. Assemble the remaining three teacups in the same order for steaming.

Take a steamer and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Carefully place the tea cup into the steamer. If using a metal steamer, you must place a heat-resistant plastic or wooden board under the bottom of the tea cup. Otherwise, the heat will be conducted directly from the metal steamer to the tea cup, causing its temperature to rise rapidly and creating many holes inside the steamed tea cup. After placing the tea cup into the steamer, steam over low heat for 18 minutes. Once taken out, top with 3 tender shoots of water radish as decoration, and it can be served at the table.