One of my long-running goals is to be able to make chawan mushi. Alas, it's a bit tricky, and I haven't got a proper steamer, so I always end up with half-cooked egg mess, more or less edible, but never tasty. I've tried and failed at chawan mushi several times, and my husband has gamely eaten my mistakes, but it's gotten a bit frusterating.
Today I decided to take a step back and try a different steamed egg dish, one decidedly less complicated. This is called, according to my cookbook, "tori no tsukimi mushi," or "Moon-viewing chicken." I'm not sure if it's called that because you use autumn vegetables, and moon-viewing is associated with the autumn in Japan, or if it's called that because the egg looks like a moon. At any rate, I used chicken and shiitake mushrooms in the bottom of the cups, and topped them off with shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves, truly delicious). You add a sauce, and I topped them with foil and steamed them. They came out quite well, I think. I was very pleased! So I suppose there's one more step on the road to chawan-mushi conquered?
I had leftover chicken after I made the steamed egg dish, so I simmered some daikon (radish) and chicken for an extra little dish. Overall, not a bad meal. The leftovers are out, too, although I forgot garlic pickles tonight. We do have hakusai pickles, though, and miso soup with our rice. Not a bad meal.
I should have added a garnish to the radish and chicken. It's quite bare, and looks quite colorless.