European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Living today traffic fills Tokyo famed fhe heart of japans capital soups on japanese custard a different Way to Start a meal by Sharon Hudgins special to stripes Magazine the first meal i ate in Japan consisted of Washimi raw fish and sushi Vinegard Rice balls garnished with Small pieces of fish and some of which i could Aven after i was Seldom taken Aback by what the japanese set in front of me to sometimes i had no idea what it but i never hesitated to taste so i was Only mildly surprised at a very Nice restaurant in Northern i saw steamed egg custard listed among the soup choices on the another error in i thought like the Fried lice one so often reads on chinese menus printed in always interested in trying new i ordered this steamed egg in the Hope that whatever i was served would at least be it took a very Long time for our soups to delayed i later Learned by my Choice of steamed egg custard for the first but it was Worth the placed in front of me was a rather blues Edwhite porcelain cup with no covered with a Matching porcelain lid and accompanied by a spoon instead of removing the lid from the i discovered exactly what the menu promised a steamed egg in which was embedded a Large a Small piece of strips of thinly sliced mushrooms and a whole with a Garnish of scallion rings on later i Learned that the japanese name for this dish is meaning steamed Tea bowl because the japanese refer to their handle less Tea cups As Tea and this dish was originally made in Tea basically a non Sweet egg custard made with fish or Chicken it also contains whatever bits of food the Cook wants to put into it Lily Ginko Lemon Bamboo even Chawa Mushi is one of the few japanese foods eaten with a spoon instead of with and it is the Only japanese soup that is not drunk directly from the when the japanese serve liquid they use chopsticks to eat any solid pieces of food in the then they lift the bowl with both hands to drink the soup As the or course of a Chawan Mushi is served very hot in the Winter and chilled in the you can also choose to eat it As the main course of a Light summer or even As a it is such a popular dish that the japanese manufacture special lidded Chawa Mushi made from stoneware or if you dont have Access to you can make this dish in Heatproof cups preferably porcelain or Standard custard Many japanese think of Chawa Mushi As a Quick a one person and a Good Way to use up it is easy to make a single portion of Chawa Mushi by putting an egg into the cup in which it will be cooked whisking the egg lightly with chopsticks adding some soy sauce and Mirin or Sherry for flavor and filling the cup about three fourths full with you can also add whatever other ingredients you have available including cooked leftovers As Long As the flavors Are compatible with the egg the Chawa Mushi can then be steamed or according to the instructions in the the following recipe for Chawa Mushi is one that takes a while to but is actually very simple to the recipe appears More complicated than it actually because it explains How to marinate the Chicken and and pre Cook the in addition to describing several ways in which the dish can be but you can also whip up a single portion of Chawan in Only a Little More time than it takes to steam the As the japanese would Ita Yakimas Bon Chawa Mushi japanese steamed egg custard 3 Large or 6 Small dried Shiitake mushrooms or 6 Champignon 3 Tablespoons Light soy sauce 1 Teaspoon sugar 1 Large Chicken breast half or cup cooked 2 Tablespoons Sake japanese Rice liquor 6 to 12 medium to Large raw shrimp stripes Magazine August