Ingredients :

• Dashi — This is the foundation. Without a good dashi, chawanmushi is bland — an egg custard with no personality. Instant dashi packets (Ajinomoto or Kayanoya are good) work very well. If you really don’t have access to dashi, a light vegetable broth can help in a pinch, but the result will be clearly less deep in flavor.
• Eggs — The egg-to-dashi ratio is everything. This recipe uses 1 to 2.5 — slightly richer than the classic 1 to 3 ratio. Concretely: more egg = firmer and denser custard. Take them out of the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before — cold eggs disturb coagulation and result in an irregular texture.
• Kamaboko — This pressed Japanese surimi cake, often pink on one side, is found in Asian grocery stores as a rectangular block. If you can’t find it, classic surimi sticks will work fine — the taste is similar, though the presentation is less refined.
• Shimeji mushrooms — Small, in clusters, with a slight bitterness that disappears when cooked. Their texture after 20 minutes of steaming is perfect — neither soft nor crunchy. Enoki or thinly sliced shiitakes work very well as replacements.