Together with soy sauce and miso, mirin is a fundamental condiment in the Japanese kitchen and for many recipes for Japanese food. It’s a sweet rice wine that has lower alcohol content and higher sugar content when compared to sake, adding a sweet flavour to dishes.
Today, we’re taking a look at a recipe that uses “Mikawa Mirin,” a brand of mirin made from high quality rice, to make carrot and cream cheese chawanmushi. Chawanmushi is a savoury egg custard dessert eaten in Japan.
Carrot & Cream Cheese Chawanmushi
Chawanmushi is made using mirin and has a smooth texture to it as well as a subtly sweet flavour. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a hot summer’s day.
Ingredients (Serves 1)
●Chawanmushi
60g carrots
240ml dashi
20ml soy sauce
120ml Mikawa Mirin
8g sugar
18g cream cheese
1 egg
●Okra-an
Okra
30ml dashi
0.5g salt
3ml Mikawa Mirin
Method
We will start by making the chawanmushi.
1. Slice the carrots and boil them until they become soft.
2. Add the soy sauce, sugar, and lots of mirin and cook through the dashi.
3. Cook for approximately 20 minutes on a medium heat, then cool with ice. Add the cooled carrots, cream cheese, and 20ml of the dashi into a blender and bend.
4. Add the egg to the mix and steam the mix for 12 minutes on a medium heat.
While the chawanmushi is cooling, we’ll make the okra-an.
5. Mix together the okra-an dashi, mirin, and salt together. Add watered potato starch and thinly sliced okra. Leave to cool in the refrigerator.
6. Add the okra-an to the cooled chawanmushi and tuck into your cute two-layered dessert.
Carrot & Cream Cheese Chawanmushi
The dessert is an enjoyable mix of the sticky texture from the okra-an and smooth chawanmushi. It’s great to have not only at lunch or dinner, but at home parties with friends too.
–How’s the taste?
Misa Kimura: “It works really well with the mirin. The chawanmushi is like a sweet treat. It’s super easy to make too, so I think I’ll be making it at home!”
Mirin is indispensable to any Japanese cupboard and can be used in many ways, whether it be a classic Japanese dish or a dessert like this one.
Mikawa Mirin 700ml: ¥1,122 (Tax Included)
This authentic brand of mirin is made using a traditional method of Japanese brewing which blends in the delicious taste of rice. It’s so delicious that you just want to drink the whole bottle. A high quality mirin, it has a distinct sweetness, colour, and texture. It has a rich flavour, and the taste of the rice elevates the flavours of its ingredients.
Mikawa Mirin Official Website: http://www.mikawamirin.jp/
Official Online Store: http://mikawamirin.jp/product/product_step1.php?m=n
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikawamirin
Recipe
This recipe was conceived by ITEMAE, a famous restaurant serving Japanese cuisine that is listed in the Michelin Guide.
Model: Misa Kimura
Photographer: Haruka Yamamoto
Information
ITEMAE
Address: 10-14 Kamiyamachō, Shibuya, Tokyo
Opening Hours: Lunch 11:30-15:00 (Weekdays Only) / Dinner 18:00-23:30
Closed: Sundays / New Year’s Holiday
TEL: 050-5595-4795
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