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RECIPE Chef Corbin Mathany of Ugly Duckling Dining & Provisions
Instructions
Savoury steam custards (zheng dan in Mandarin or chawanmushi in Japanese) are a whole class of dishes common across many Asian cultures. Velvet-smooth, rich and aromatic, the concept behind making them is simple: an intensely flavoured broth is combined with eggs, covered and steamed. Optionally, you can add fillings to the custard to jazz it up—shiitake mushrooms, ginkgo nuts and shelled edamame are common in Japan, while spinach, scallions and shrimp are common in China—but at the restaurant, we prefer to keep it simple and let the silky texture shine. The custard can be served either warm or cold; and once you’ve mastered the basic formula, there’s no reason not to get creative and experiment with flavours to really make it your own.
Our version of zheng dan is decidedly non-traditional. We vary the flavours by season, but my favourite version is the one printed here. The base is a stock made from huitlacoche, a Mexican mushroom that grows on corn. This base is flavoured with a bit of ginger, onion, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil and soy sauce, and the finished custard is topped with a warm mousse of white miso and sweet corn (huitlacoche and corn have an affinity not just in where they grow but also in how they taste together). We source our huitlacoche from our Chinatown neighbours, MAiiZ Nixtamal, and I think that’s part of what makes it such a beautiful dish. It’s an edible reflection of our Chinatown’s past and present—paying homage both to its Chinese roots, and to the vibrant, multicultural neighbourhood that it’s become. Ugly Duckling bills itself as, “an edible celebration of Vancouver Island and a love-letter to our Chinatown home,” and this simple, delicious custard manages to accomplish both of those things at once.
Equipment
4 smallish teacups or small bowls (the exact size isn’t crucial, but cooking time will vary depending on size)
a steamer basket with lid, and a pot or wok that they fit snugly on top of
a fine mesh strainer
a blender or immersion blender
an iSi cream whipper, with 1 N2O charger (optional)
enough tin foil to cover your teacups or bowls
For the huitlacoche stock
2 cups (20g) freeze-dried huitlacoche (if you can’t find huitlacoche, dried shiitake mushrooms make a great substitute)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 thumb-size piece of ginger (about 50g), thinly-sliced
½ a medium yellow onion, sliced
¼ cup Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine, available from any Asian grocer)
¼ cup soy sauce
4 cups water
Heat the sesame oil over medium–low heat in a large saucepan. Add the huitlacoche, ginger and onion, and sweat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is fragrant and the huitlacoche starts to look toasty. Deglaze with the Shaoxing wine and soy sauce, and then add the water. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Strain the stock, pressing out as much of the flavourful liquid as you can, and discard the solids. Chill well and refrigerate until ready to use. This recipe yields more than you’ll need for 4 custards, but the stock is great in a variety of applications, and freezes extremely well.
For the miso/corn foam
½ cup unsalted butter
½ of a white onion, sliced
2 cups sweet corn (ideally cut from the cob, but frozen works fine in a pinch)
3 Tbsp white miso
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp dry white wine
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp whipping cream
Sweat the butter and onions in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent and soft. Add the sweet corn and white miso, and stir to combine well. Add the wine and cream, and simmer to reduce lightly and cook the corn, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend until very smooth. Pass through a fine mesh strainer into a shallow pan to cool. Press clingfilm directly onto the surface of the purée to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the steamed custards
2 cups huitlacoche stock (above)
5 eggs
salt, to taste
Blend the stock and eggs very well, either in a blender or with an immersion blender. Pass through a fine mesh strainer to eliminate any stringy bits of egg white (this extra step will greatly improve the texture of the finished product), season with salt to taste and refrigerate until ready to use.
To finish & serve
Preheat your steamer setup—you’re looking for a strong simmer and plenty of steam, but not a rolling boil. Fill each of your teacups about ¾ of the way with custard mix, and wrap the top of each with tin foil. Transfer to the lidded steamer basket and steam for about 7 minutes.
While waiting for the custards to steam, gently heat the sweet corn purée in a small saucepan. Transfer to iSi (if the purée isn’t completely smooth, strain it into the iSi to avoid clogging the nozzle). Charge with one N2O charger, and keep warm until ready to use. If you’re not using an iSi, you can simply spoon some of the warm purée on top of each of your custards. It’s almost just as good.
Check the custards. When you tap on the side, the middle should be just barely set—jiggly, but not liquid. If they’re not ready, continue steaming, checking back every couple of minutes.
Once ready to serve, carefully spray enough corn foam on each of the custards to fill the cup. Garnish with anything you like; we use toasted black sesame, Sichuan chili powder, chopped Chinese chives and crispy fried shallots—all of which can be purchased off the shelf at any Asian grocer.
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