Smoked Salmon Chawanmushi

Ingredients:

8oz Alaska Smokehouse Smoked King Salmon, drained, skin removed, and flaked, divided into 6 portions

2-1/4 cups dashi broth

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons cup Mirin

1/4 cup Butter

Chives, diced, for garnish

Procedure:

Here is a quick note about Chawanmushi, it follows a ratio of either 2.5 or 3 times the weight of the eggs to the weight of the dashi stock (our recipe follows the traditional 3 times the weight of the eggs).  So, if you're using medium eggs (50g), or extra-large eggs (65g), those have different weights than the large eggs (57g) in the recipe.  The lower the ratio (2.5 versus 3), the eggier the custard will taste.  Our suggestion is to get a kitchen scale, then add a bowl to the scale and tare it, so that the weight of the bowl is zeroed out.  Crack the eggs into the bowl, then note the weight and multiply that by 3.  Google has a great converter for grams to fluid ounces: https://www.omnicalculator.com/conversion/grams-to-fl-oz.  

First, prepare the dashi (if using a powder to create the stock) according to the directions on the package, then cool rapidly in the refrigerator.  You should always start with room temperature or cold stock for this dish.

Next, add in the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and eggs to a large bowl and whisk very, very well.

Now pass the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove particulate and bubbles.  Press the custard through with a spatula.

Get out 5 small heat proof bowls, like large ramekins, and place 1 portion of the smoked salmon in each, leaving the final portion for garnishing.

Divide the custard between the 5 bowls, then wrap each bowl in plastic wrap.

Set up a steamer for the custards, such as a bamboo steamer, and steam the custards for 16 minutes.

Carefully remove and let cool, being very gentle with transferring the bowls.

While the custard is cooking, make brown butter in a skillet by melting the butter on medium heat and swirling the pan until you see small golden-brown specks at the bottom of the pan.

At this point, you can either remove the butter from the heat or continue cooking until it reaches a deep golden brown and the milk solids are brown but not burnt.

Now add in the last portion of smoked salmon to the butter and stir to coat.

Remove the plastic wrap from the custard and garnish with brown butter, smoked salmon, and chives.  Serve hot.