A plate of chawanmushi
Overview
Sister Gourmet Fan has an article called "The First Dish in Life" which says that when a baby is born and can eat milk cakes and batter, the first real dish that most people taste should be stewed eggs. My mother directly calls it stewed egg. In Japan, it is made by putting egg liquid, soup, chicken, shiitake mushroom, bonito flakes and other ingredients into a small tea bowl, and then steaming it. The solidified egg liquid has a smooth texture, at least my family and I like it very much. In Japan, there are many restaurants called Gozen, which is very impressive just from the name. Chawanmushi is an indispensable part of a small dinner plate. The only difference is that the ingredients are slightly different, but the changes are not big. This tradition is said to have started in the Edo period and continues to this day. Both in terms of quantity and color, it is always small and pleasing to the eye. Chawanmushi originated from Chinese stewed eggs. Nowadays, what can be sold in Chinese restaurants is probably a stewed egg with clams. The quantity is larger than that of chawanmushi, but the appearance is very different. When a plate of stewed eggs comes up, there are not only open clams on the cheeks that were originally as smooth as a girl's, but also a spoonful of black soy sauce and a spoonful of hot oil, which really ruins the appearance. When I was a child, I was quite naughty in the countryside. I followed my brother and sister to steal the eggs from the neighbor's chicken coop. When I got home, I beat the eggs in a bowl, added water, and nervously forgot to add salt. I put it in a pot and boiled it over high heat. A bowl of thick sponge came out hot, the eggs and water were separated, and we ate them all. Later, when I had children, I began to cook food for them. The most common thing I cooked was stewed eggs. The stewed eggs were drizzled with sesame oil. It didn’t take much thought to make them a nutritious food that my children loved. If you pursue perfection, you must have some tricks when cooking eggs. The tenderness of the eggs depends on the ratio of egg to water. The more eggs, the older the eggs, and the more water, the tenderer. If it is eaten as a dish at home, then two eggs should be added to a small bowl of water. If it is used as soup, two eggs should be added to two small bowls of water. The bowls here are for eating in the south of the Yangtze River, not for drinking in the north. Add salt and a little MSG and beat directly into egg liquid with chopsticks. If you are lazy, you can put it in the steamer to steam it. Because of the bubbles, the steamed eggs often come out with tiny holes. My mother always joked that they were like Li Moran’s orange peel (Li Moran is a film performing artist and the actor of Deng Shichang in the Sino-Japanese War, with many small pits on his face). Mr. Li was very sorry for lying innocently. The more careful way is to slowly sift the egg liquid to remove the foam, then cover the bowl with a layer of plastic wrap, put cold water in the pot and steam it over medium heat for 20 minutes, and the surface of the stewed egg will be as smooth as a mirror, which is extraordinary when made in a peaceful atmosphere. Once you learn the basics of stewed eggs, you can show off your skills. Boil the clams in water to remove the sediment, put them in the egg liquid to make clams stewed eggs, add some shrimp skin, and seaweed turns into tofu curd-like tofu curd eggs. But for me, my favorite dish is the first dish in my life that only adds salt. It is simple, light and light stewed eggs.
Tags
Ingredients
Steps
-
Feng Shui pears were used as ingredients, but they were too crispy when sliced, so they were later changed to red apples,
-
The stewed eggs must be sieved and foamed to make them look good. Add salt and MSG to taste, cover with plastic wrap, steam in a pot of cold water over medium heat for 20 minutes
-
Originally, the avocado was steamed with the eggs, which was not delicious, so it was better to put it directly. Boil the shrimps in salt water and soak them in the salt water for 30 minutes to absorb the flavor.
-
Just place the steamed eggs on top of the processed ingredients.