What is the Japanese savory egg custard served in a cup with dashi?

The Japanese savory egg custard served in a cup with dashi is chawanmushi.

Chawanmushi is a steamed egg custard seasoned with dashi, soy sauce, and often mirin. Unlike sweet custards, it is served as a savory part of a meal. It is typically steamed in a small, cup-like bowl and may contain shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, ginkgo nuts, kamaboko fish cake, lily root, or mitsuba leaves.

The name literally refers to a bowl or tea-cup vessel and steamed food. Because its delicate texture cannot be picked up with chopsticks, chawanmushi is usually eaten with a spoon. It can be served hot or chilled, and its smooth consistency depends on gently steaming the egg mixture rather than cooking it at an aggressive boil.

Chawanmushi is sometimes compared with Chinese steamed eggs and Korean gyeran-jjim, but the Japanese version is distinguished by its dashi-based seasoning and characteristic fillings. It is also different from tamagoyaki, which is a layered fried omelette, and onsen tamago, a softly cooked egg usually served without the same custard-like mixture and fillings.