Custard's Last Stand: Spilled Milk #183

This is the savory custard of your dreams. And it's so simple to make at home.

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I am kind of obsessed with custard. I make one type or another every week — simple vanilla ones, crème brûlée, chocolate pots de crème, crème caramel, flan, you name it. I love them. They are the desserts I can’t get enough of. Butterscotch pudding? Be still my beating heart. Panna cotta? Bring it on. (I have all these recipes and more on my website, so go check them out: Classic Spanish Flan; Frozen Strawberry Custard with Lemon Curd; Chocolate Pots de Crème; Crème Brûlée; Buttermilk Panna Cotta; Flan with Caramel and Orange.)

But what about savory custards, ones without sugar? Well there is one savory custard to rule them all … and that is Japanese chawanmushi, which literally translates to “teacup steamed egg custard.” This popular egg custard is filled with seafood of all types, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, Japanese fish cake, herbs, subtle pickles, carrots, ginko and is always cooked with dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. The custards are steamed in a cup and can be served cold or hot.

Chawanmushi is having a moment these days as well. Sea urchin custards seem to be all the rage in fancy pants restaurants. And chefs have taken to making chawanmushi a regular part of tasting menus in restaurants that don’t serve Japanese food as culinarians of all stripes discover the magic of dashi, the king of all umami bombs.

In my ongoing effort to get you to cook restaurant quality food at home, and to stop paying $100 for a children’s portion designed by an interior decorator, ESPECIALLY one that is so easy to make at home, I thought I would show you how simple this dish really is.