Ochawanmushi [お茶碗蒸し]

A savoury egg 'custard' steamed in a small tea cup. Usually and accompaniment to a meal (I often find it at kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi [回転寿司] places. When mum came to Japan, and we had one of these for dinner at some point and I was busy trying to explain to her what it was and she already knew. The Chinese have it too, but a little different as they - well mum - put a little minced meat into it too. Anyhoo the basics of it are; a whisked egg with a little soya milk or soup stock (generally called dashi [だし or 出汁] in Japanese) and a bit of salt or soysauce to taste. In to the tea cup you plonk a ginko seed and some thinly chopped veges such as carrot, corriander, shitake mushrooms (and a bit of minced meat if you like). Then pour the egg mixture in to the bowl. Steam for 15-20mins...or something like that. EAT. yummy.

photo from: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chawanmushi