Salmon Roe

There are some foods that after one bite, I find myself saying…

“Damn. That’s luxurious.”

And it doesn’t even mean having to use expensive ingredients – though, it definitely doesn’t hurt.

A lot of times, that sentiment is evoked for me just based on texture.

Just think about how you feel when you take a bite of crème brûlée. Hopefully, if it is was prepared well, it should be thick and rich with a great mouthfeel. It should make you want to move your mouth around so that the creamy custard hits all of your taste buds and sensors.

That’s exactly how I felt the first time I had chawanmushi – a traditional Japanese egg custard. I couldn’t even tell you the name of the restaurant I first had chawanmushi at. All I recall is that it was a tiny little spot we had stumbled into when we were in Osaka years ago. My friends and I didn’t speak a bit of Japanese but had somehow managed to order the most delicious bowls of soba. I guess we amused our host (and the fact that he was incredibly generous) because he brought out several dishes for us to try.

Chawanmushi was one of them.

I recall the bowl was simply adorned with fish cake slices and mushrooms but it was the custard itself that was surprising. It was incredibly light, beautifully silky while having a fresh sea flavor to it.

And that was it.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed several variations of it—sometimes with chunks of seafood in the base, sometimes more veggie forward. But always oishi.

At our recent egg themed Fam Din, it was the perfect time make my own chawanmushi. The base of the custard is quite simple to assemble. All we did was combine eggs, seafood stock, dashi and bonito together. And because I’m obsessed with trying to use my sous vide device as much as possible, I put them in little mason jars.

After sealing the jars, I sous vide them at 176 degrees F for an hour. Before serving, we topped each with a sprinkle of Maldon salt flakes, fresh uni, a generous spoonful of ikura and some fresh scallions.

Not only did the uni and ikura add to the decadence level and gentle seafood flavor but the little pops from the ikura were a fun little surprise. The Sous Vide Chawanmushi with Uni and Ikura was then served with two different types of Japanese rice crackers (one with wasabi, one without) for some added crunch and texture.

Next time I may add some big chunks of prawns and beech mushrooms to the custard, too. Or maybe even lobster or crab?

Options are endless.

Perfect to serve at brunch or as a light appetizer, the beauties are sure to have you and your guests do a little happy food-shimmy.

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Chawanmushi with Uni and Ikura
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 ounces dried bonito shavings
2¹⁄4 cups seafood stock
2 teaspoons dashi powder
3 large eggs
flaked salt
12 pieces fresh uni (sea urchin)
3-4 ounces fresh ikura (salmon roe)
sliced scallions/chives
serve with senbei (Japanese rice crackers)

In a small pot, combine the bonito shavings and seafood stock. Bring to a simmer and allow the shavings to simmer and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the stock in a bowl and discard the bonito flakes. Stir in the dashi. Allow to slightly cool.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs. You’ll want to ensure the yolks and whites have combined but do so gently as to not create too many bubbles. Pour in about one of cup of the heated broth while gently stirring to combine. Once incorporated and slightly tempered, add the rest of the stock and gently stir.

Divide the custard mixture, pouring through a fine mesh strainer, between six 4-ounce mason jars. Try not to shake or disturb the custard too much as you want to avoid air bubbles. Seal the jars tightly with their respective lids.

Submerge the jars in a secure container of water (pot, food safe bin, etc.) that has been heated to 176 degrees F. Sous vide the custards at the 176 degrees F temperature for one hour. Once done, carefully remove the jars from the water bath allow to slightly cool. If you prefer not to sous vide, cover each dish/jar and steam for 15-20 minutes.

When it’s time to serve, remove the lids and sprinkle each with a few pinches of salt flakes (we like Maldon for the texture and flavor), 2 pieces of uni, a spoonful of ikura and some scallions/chives. Serve with your choice of senbei on the side.

Adapted from Nomiku blog

Last month’s Fam Din was most EGG-cellent!

We’re talking Bill and Ted’s status.

Why so egg-cellent? Because it happened the day before Easter — so of course, it was all about EGGS!!

The eggs had to come in a few different forms. Not only with our menu but also with some fun! (Oh Leo….never one to conform for mundane things like photos.)

First up– Rice Krispy “Nests” with Jelly Bean “Eggs”!

Adorbs!

And not only were they yummy to munch on (minus the jelly beans for me…they’re not my fav) but it was a fun activity for the kiddos, too!

The older munchkins instructed and helped out their younger cuzzos.

Below you can see that Lucas’ face was full of concentration and determination.

Maya’s face was full of “hmmm…I wish we had jelly bellies instead”.

Me too, Maya. Me, too.

So festive and colorful!

And apparently, they were Leonidas approved!

Since the kiddos had their treats, it was time for the adults to have one (or two), too! That’s right–it’s cocktail time!

As soon as we decided on the egg theme, I knew exactly what type of cocktail I would be shaking up that night. And you bet there were eggs in it-egg whites to be exact! Yes, my friends — we had Classic Bourbon Sours!

Now don’t freak out.

More times than not if you’ve been to an old school bar or better yet, a hipster one these days, you would have noticed a few cocktails with a decadent foam. Yes dear lovelies, that foam was most likely made by vigorously shaking a cocktail with egg whites in it!

In a cocktail shaker with ice, I poured in bourbon (Bulleit Bourbon that day but use whichever you prefer), fresh lemon juice (it’s got to be fresh), simple syrup, a dash of bitters and an egg white (if you’re wary, be sure to used pasteurized eggs). Then shake what your Mama gave ya’ for a good 15-20 seconds and pour into a glass. I garnished mine with cherries that had been soaking in bourbon for the past several months and HOT DAMN did those cherries pack a punch!

The end cocktail was delightful. I could sip on them all day. But then I would need to sleep it off the entire next day. My aging, alas, has taken a toll on my cocktail-recovery time.

By then, I had gotten my sibbies all boozy so the only responsible thing to do was give them something to nosh on.

I was up to bat for appetizers that night and after mulling over several different ideas with seester T, I settled on making chawanmushi – a light, Japanese egg custard. If you’ve ever had it at a restaurant before, you know how wonderfully smooth and creamy it can be. And guess what? It’s actually easy to make–when you sous vide it of course!

Don’t be too surprise that I opted to sous vide –it has been, after all, a fam din or two since I last busted out my beloved Anova. It needed some love and the method not only provided a no-fuss process but its gentle cooking method resulted in the chawanmushi‘s luxurious texture.

I recruited both Nina and Nini to help out with it. Nini helped with the “custard” by whisking together eggs, seafood stock, dashi powder and bonito powder. After sealing the mixture in the little mason jars, we sous vide it at 176 degrees F for an hour. Then Nina gently topped each with a sprinkle of Maldon salt flakes, fresh uni, a generous spoonful of ikura and some fresh scallions.

I served the Sous Vide Chawanmushi with Uni and Ikura with two different types of Japanese rice crackers (one with wasabi, one without) for some added crunch and texture. They turned out rather beautifully…didn’t they? And I’m happy to report, they were OISHI!

With a little something in their tummies, the munchkins were ready for their other activity….

EGG HUNT TIME!

That Fam Din, our human-lings ranged from ages 6 through 19 so the over 200+ eggs were filled with not only candy but some lottery tix and money, too!

Both B.I.L.s hid the eggs in the front and back of the house. And I’d be remiss not to mention that Leo requested that we hid at least 10 “obviously” so that he’d be sure to find them.

That kid cracks me up.

We made the munchkins line up across the street before letting them loose–and WOWSERS! It was a mad dash!

Laughing, shrieking, rolling in the grass…….

But enough of what I did, let’s get back to the kiddos!

They were scavenging fiends!

With all of those eggs scattered about, I was sure that it would have taken them longer to find them all. But nope!

Within a blink of the eye, they were done!

Wait a second….why do the older ones have big bags whereas the littles have small baskets?

Ah…more years of experience—that’s why.

Examing their loot!

Somehow we were able to refocus and get back to meal prep.

V enlisted Nini to help out with their dish that we nominated he and L for.

Can you guessed what they fixed up below?

Did you say Scotch Eggs?

But not just any Scotch Eggs!

Traditionally, they are hard boiled eggs with a pork sausage wrapped around it. They’re then breaded and fried. What’s not to love about that?

V and L also took boiled eggs but instead of pork, they wrapped them in a seafood mixture that was made of shrimp, dungeness crab and diver scallops. Fancy, eh?

They then rolled them in panko and deep fried them into these golden torpedoes of decadent deliciousness!

I have to admit that T and I helped out with boiling the eggs while they worked on fixing up the seafood mixture. We were aiming for a soft-boiled egg so that when it was deep fried and sliced into, the yolks would still be unctuous and jammy.

Though we blew it and overcooked them.

Eh, lesson learned.

But good grief, they still were awesome!

T also made a Bacon-Onion Quiche and a Mushroom Quiche. Yup, TWO! We love options and we especially love leftovers!

Her homemade pastry dough was giving her a bit of trouble that day but gosh darn it, it was tasty!

Then, we were near EGG DRUNK.

Don’t get me wrong, everything was delectable. But it was A LOT of eggs. We were sorely missing on a salad or other vegetable. I guess we could have made an egg salad–but I’m not sure that would have brought the type of levity that was much needed at that point.

We definitely needed a breather before dessert.

While the humans cleaned up, Leia took a nap. Well, right here she’s giving us stink-eye for making too much noise during her nap…but she napped nonetheless.

And these two cuties cuddled.

Bella loves her human-lings.

At this point, most people would say “Hey, my belly is way overfilled. I’m going to pass on dessert.”

Not this family.

We suck it up (or I guess “in”) and get down to dessert business.

To close out our egg-a-palooza, seestrah N made these cute Mini Lemon Meringue Pies.

I’ve got to admit, I didn’t think I liked lemon meringue pies because the ones I’ve had before were really artificial tasting. The filling would be really thick and sticky in texture and the meringue would be overly sweet.

NOT THESE!

These little angels were the perfect close out to such a rich meal. The lemon filling was light and citrusy. The meringue was airy and not too sweet. The crust was flaky and buttery. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

And it was perfect that they were little mini pies because honestly, I couldn’t fit much more in me.

That’s a wrap on our EGG-stravaganza of a Family Dinner!

And as a wise Abraham Lincoln of Bill and Ted’s once said, “Be excellent to each other….and….PARTY ON, DUDES!”

❤

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This Month’s Family Dinner Menu

Cocktails: Classic Bourbon Sours, Various Wine
Appetizers: Sous Vide Chawanmushi with Uni and Ikura
Entrees: Bacon-Onion Quiche, Mushroom Quiche, Seafood Scotch Egg
Dessert: Mini Lemon Meringue Pies, Rice Krispy “Nests” with Jelly Bean “Eggs”

Tag: Salmon Roe

Chawanmushi with Uni and Ikura

A Most EGG-cellent Fam Din!