Chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard)

Chawan Mushi

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

This light and delicate egg custard is a wonderful appetizer to prepare if you're looking to wow your partner or dinner guests. It's both beautiful and fun to eat, is extremely simple and easy to make, and require few ingredients. This Japanese dish is often served in omakase meals and in traditional Japanese restaurants. The flavors are mild, eggy and earthy, with a texture very similar to silken tofu.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup low sodium chicken or beef broth (room temperature)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• Sauce:
• 4 tbsp low sodium chicken or beef broth
• 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Cooking Directions:

Bring the water in your  steamer to boil, cover and lower the heat to simmer.

In a large pan, add the oil and cook the mushroom for a few minutes until they become slightly caramelized. Set aside and let them cool down to room temperature.Your chicken or beef broth should also be room temperature. 

Whisk the eggs and add broth. In 4 small separate bowls, equally divide the mushrooms and pour the egg stock on top. Add a few scallions in each cup and briefly stir. Put the cups in the  steamer, cover and steam for 12-14 minutes. 

Meanwhile mix all the ingredients of the sauce together and set aside. When the custard cups are ready, take them out of the steamer, pour a little sauce on top and garnish with scallions.

Yasai Itame (Vegetable Stir-Fry)

Vegetable Stir-Fry (Yasai Itame)

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

Yasai itame is Japanese for vegetable stir fry. It's a relatively healthy dish that's simple and quick to prepare. Yasai itame is usually made with thinly sliced pork but since my husband loves spicy sausages, I made this one using small Berkshire links. There's very little cooking and seasoning involved other than chopping, stir frying the veggies and adding a little soy, and black pepper. This easy recipe pairs really well with a hot bowl of freshly cooked Japanese rice.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings


Ingredients

• 1 medium size carrot, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 small cabbage, chopped bite size
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• about 2 cups, sprouts
• 2 Berkshire sausages (optional. The traditional recipe is usually made with pork), thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Ajinomoto (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. In a large pan over high heat, add the sausages and cook for 2 minutes. Add cabbage, carrots and both green and red bell peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes, until cabbage has soften and charred just a little bit. Add sprouts and cook for a minute. 
2. Add soy, a sprinkle of Ajinomoto and cook for another minute. 
3. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Vegetables 'oden' style

When I am in Japan in the fall or winter,

I often go to a convenience store for Oden. Oden is a very

simple dish consisting of vegetables, eggs, 'konyaku', cooked

in a light soy based or kombu based broth. I've added some

garlic and ginger to mine to give it a bit of a twist.

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

- 4 carrots, roughly chopped

- 1/2 lb daikon, roughly chopped

- 1 onion, roughly chopped

- 1 shallot, finely chopped

- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

- 1 tbsp ginger, finely grated

- 2 cup water

- 2 tsp granulated sugar

- 5 tbsp soy

- 1 tsp powdered dashi

- 1 tbsp cooking sake 

- 2 tbsp mirin

- 2 tbsp neutral oil (canola, grapeseed)

Directions:

Do your prep first, have all of your vegetables ready.In a pot over medium heat, add oil, ginger, garlic and shallot. Cook for 2 minutes and add onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Add carrots and daikon, and cook for 2 minutes. Add water, stir, add dashi, sake, mirin, sugar and soy, stir well. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes (until daikon and carrots are soft). 

Serve in small bowls with rice.