Tamago Dofu Egg Tofu Chilled Dashi Savory Custard

Ingredients

• For the custard
• 3 eggs
• 300 ml ichiban dashi, cold
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp mirin
• For the cold tsuyu sauce
• 150 ml ichiban dashi, cold
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 pinch salt
• To finish
• 4 small sprigs mitsuba, leaves only
• 4 small portions fresh wasabi, grated

Method

1. 1
   Combine the eggs, 300 ml cold ichiban dashi, light soy sauce, and mirin in a bowl. Beat together gently with chopsticks or a fork, using a folding rather than whisking motion — the aim is to blend without incorporating air. Strain the mixture twice through fine muslin into a pouring vessel. The strained liquid should be entirely smooth, free of chalazae threads, and without visible bubbles on its surface.
2. 2
   Pour the strained mixture into a rectangular container. Lay a sheet of foil directly over the surface and seal it loosely around the rim. The foil serves as a barrier against condensation drips from the steamer lid, which would mark the custard permanently. Set the container inside the steamer before raising the heat, so the custard is not subjected to a sudden blast of steam.
3. 3
   Steam at a temperature that must not exceed 85°C — this is where the dish lives or dies. Too vigorous a steam causes the moisture within the custard to boil, producing the irreversible pockmarking known as su ga hairu. Maintain a slow, gentle, barely-visible curl of steam throughout. The custard is ready when the edges are fully set and the centre trembles as one coherent mass when the container is nudged gently — it should not slosh.
4. 4
   Remove from the steamer and allow to cool to room temperature, still covered, then transfer to the refrigerator. Chill completely before any attempt to unmould or cut. The custard is ready to cut when it is cold to the touch at the centre and firm enough to hold a clean edge under a knife.
5. 5
   Combine the cold tsuyu ingredients — ichiban dashi, light soy sauce, mirin, and salt — and stir briefly. Taste: the sauce should be delicate and lightly savoury, with no single element dominant. Keep cold.
6. 6
   Run a thin knife around the edges of the container and unmould the custard onto a cutting board. Cut into four equal rectangular blocks, replicating the proportions of a tofu block. Transfer each block to a chilled bowl or deep plate. Spoon cold tsuyu around and over each block. The surface of each piece must be smooth, pale, and unmarked — a blemished surface indicates a flaw in straining, temperature control, or condensation management. Garnish with a small mound of freshly grated wasabi and two or three mitsuba leaves.