Japanese Egg Custard - Chawan Mushi

I always like chawan mushi. Unfortunately they almost always come with pork or chicken. And because they are usually pre-mixed in advance, it makes it "impossible" to serve without meat. But now that I know the inside-out of chawan mushi, I could probably tell the waiter to inform the cook to simply pick out the meat before it's put to steamed.

I found the recipe from New York Times. True-hearted Japanese may jump and call foul but believe me this Japanese recipe by the American called Mark Bittman does work. I got a "the best chawan mushi" from Adrian. The original recipe uses watercress of which I omitted. I also added stir-fry shiitake mushroom with garlic. I found myself having little guilty pleasure with the garlic - as though I had found a secret staved away in a treasure trove.

Ingredients

(makes 2)

• 2 sea scallops, quartered
  
• 1 tablespoon of chopped shallot
  
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup shiitake mushroom (caps only), sliced
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  
• 3/4 cups dashi soup
  
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
  

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Divide scallops and shallots among 2 ramekins. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Beat eggs lightly, and combine with dashi soup, and soy sauce.
2. Sautee mushroom and garlic. Stir into eggs mixture.
3. Put ramekins in flameproof baking pan or skillet, and fill with egg mixture. Add boiling water to pan to about halfway up sides of ramekins, and turn heat to high. When water returns to boil, turn heat to low and cover pan tightly.
4. Simmer 15 minutes, then check. Custards are done when set and no longer watery but still quite jiggly. Remove ramekins from water immediately. Serve hot or at room temperature.