• Gather all the ingredients. Marinate 4 pieces shrimp (or chicken that‘s cut into small pieces) in ½ Tbsp sake for 15 minutes.
  

To Prepare the Ingredients

• Clean 1 matsutake mushroom with a damp towel or paper towel. Do not wash the mushroom. Cut it into thin slices.
  
• Whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) in a medium bowl, without making air bubbles. Add and whisk all the seasonings: ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), ½ tsp mirin, ½ tsp usukuchi (light-colored) soy sauce, and ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Then, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. This makes a refined and silky custard texture.
  

To Assemble the Chawanmushi

• Divide all the ingredients into individual chawanmushi cups. For each cup, I start with one shrimp, a ginkgo nut, and some sliced matsutake mushroom. Then, I add two slices of narutomaki (fish cakes) and another shrimp. Lastly, I tie a knot in each stem of mitsuba (optional) and place it on top of the shrimp. (Place the colorful ingredients near the surface.) Gently pour the egg mixture into the cups without creating bubbles. Instead of covering the ingredients completely with the egg mixture, leave some ingredients exposed so it will be visually pleasing when cooked. Put on the cup‘s lid; if you don‘t use chawanmushi cups, cover tightly with aluminum foil.
  

To Cook the Chawanmushi

• In a large pot, boil enough water to go halfway up the sides of the chawanmushi cups. Once boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest heat. Gently place the chawanmushi cups inside the gently simmering water. Cover the pot with the lid. Steam for 25–30 minutes on the lowest heat. If you are not adding shrimp and/or chicken, the cooking time should only be 15–20 minutes. Insert a skewer in the center of the custard. If clear liquid comes out, it‘s done.
  

To Serve

• Serve the Chawanmushi with Matsutake Mushroom warm with a spoon.
  

To Store

• You can keep the leftovers in a chawanmushi cup and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat, steam for 2 minutes.