Chilled Corn-and-Crab Chawan Mushi

The pairing of corn and crab is a popular one in both Eastern and Western cuisines. Chawan mushi is like a flan but less rich, or maybe a different kind of rich. While flan has cream and a higher proportion of egg to liquid (there’s an extra yolk per cup), chawan mushi is flavored with dashi and some mirin, a sweet cooking wine of sorts. Where the flan has a higher fat content, its Eastern counterpart has plenty of umami. Their textures are also different. While flan is set, chawan mushi is