1
Rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms in the fridge overnight. Once rehydrated, cut the stems and shiitake mushrooms into bite-size pieces.
2
Reserve 300 ml of the soaking water for braised shiitake mushrooms, adding more water if necessary.
3
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Braised with the peeled skin also makes the braised dish tastier.
4
Put the shiitake mushrooms, 300 ml of the soaking water and one pack of the soup stock pack into a pan, bring to the boil, add the chicken, reduce the heat and simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes, then remove the soup stock pack.
5
Remove the scum and add 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp mirin, soy sauce 1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
6
Leave the cooking liquid to soak into the shiitake mushrooms and chicken to soak up the flavour and allow to cool. Reserve 3 Tbsp of the cooking liquid for later use.
7
In a separate pan, add 200 ml water and one pack of soup stock pack and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes before removing the dashi pack.
8
Add 2 Tbsp of the broth from step 6, 2/3 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp mirin to step 7, season to taste and leave to cool to below the body temperature.
9
Remove the vein of the prawns and season them with 1 Tbsp of the cooking liquid from step 6. Rinse the mitsuba in cold water and cut into 3 cm pieces.
10
Bring plenty of water to a good boil under the steamer. While the water in the steamer is boiling, crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them in a non-foaming, chopping motion.
11
If the quantity for two eggs is 100 ml, adjust the broth to four times that quantity, i.e. 400 ml. The consistency will be just right when the broth is four times the volume of the eggs.
12
Gently add the broth to the egg mixture to prevent foaming, mix well and strain through a fine-meshed colander or tea strainer.
13
Put the remaining ingredients (chicken, shiitake, fish cake and prawns) into the bowl, leaving a few ingredients to be placed on top later for decoration.
14
Gently pour the egg broth into the cup with a ladle. Fill the cup no more than 70-80% full. If bubbles form, remove them with a spoon.
15
Place the chawanmushi cup in a steamer with steam rising, wrap the lid in a cloth to prevent water dripping out and steam on high heat for 1 minute, then turn the heat down to low and steam for 4 minutes.
16
When the mixture is firm enough, place shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, kamaboko, and mitsuba stems on top and steam over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
17
When the prawns turn red and a clear soup comes out when you stick a bamboo skewer into the centre of the egg, the steaming is done. If cloudy soup is produced, it is undercooked. Finish by placing only the leafy part of the mitsuba on top.
