Steamed Egg Custard Soup

==Description==
Rev. Saito was a great cook. We enjoyed his cooking. He loved to treat people by making sushi, steamed fish, and Steak. During one Buddhist retreat he made the largest chawan-mushi (steamed egg-custard soup) I had seen in my life. Ignoring the traditional method, which involved a small soup cup, he used a huge pot into which he put dozens of eggs. When he cooked, I used to cut vegetables for him. Thanks to him, I am now not so much a Buddhist scholar as a kitchen helper. My wife Tomoko is very grateful to him because he domesticated me and taught me how to cut vegetables and cook.
===Ingredients===
* 80g boned Chicken thigh, cut into small bite-sized pieces<BR>
* Dash of sake and light soy sauce<BR>
* 4 prawns, shelled<BR>
* Dash of salt<BR>
* 1 sea eel (commercially grilled), cut lengthwise into halves and again cut across into 1cm wide strips<BR>
* 1/4 lily bulb, flaked and lightly boiled<BR>
* 8 gingko nuts, shelled with soft skin removed<BR>
* 1/3 bunch of Japanese honewort, discard the leaves and cut the stalk into 1.5cm sections<BR>
* 400cc dashi<BR>
* 15cc mirin<BR>
* 15cc light soy sauce<BR>
* 1/2 tsp. salt<BR>
* 2 eggs, well beaten until smooth<BR>
* 1/4 yuzu, rind cut into several pieces
===Directions===
#Boil the Chicken pieces until white on the surface. 
#Soak in cold water and drain. 
#Sprinkle with sake and light soy sauce the evenly coat using fingers. 
#Set aside for 5 to 6 minutes.<BR>
#Make a shallow cut on the dorsal side of prawns to devain. Sprinkle with salt and rub well. Rinse in water and drain. Cut into halves.<BR>
#Put dashi, mirin, light soy sauce and salt in a mixing bowl and blend thoroughly. 
#Add already beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.<BR>
#Strain through a narrow meshed strainer for a smoother texture.<BR>
#Place Chicken, prawns, sea eel, lily bulb, gingko nuts and Japanese honewort into small heatproof bowls and pour in the egg mixture. 
#Cover and cook in a preheated steamer over high heat for the first 3 minutes. 
#After checking that the surface of the egg mixture has a whitish hue, reduce the heat to low and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. 
#Pierce a bamboo skewer through the center of the egg custard to check whether soup is clear. 
#Remove from steamer and top with yuzu rind.
==See also==
Category: Japanese Soups
Category:Japanese Recipes
category:gingko nut Recipes
category:mitsuba Recipes
category:Chicken Recipes
category:mirin Recipes
category:water Recipes
category:dashi Recipes
category:sake Recipes
category:egg Recipes
category:salt Recipes
category:citron Recipes
category:egg Recipes
category:Steak Recipes
category:fish Recipes