Steamed Eggs and More

Chawan mushi, the dish that continues to be out of my cooking grasp:

I think I'm getting close, though. Here's what I did, with what I'm going to do next time in parenthesis:

• three large eggs
• 1/2 cup water (plus a tablespoon or two, or smaller eggs)
• 1 tsp hondashi
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt (omit)
• 1 tsp sake

Dissolve the last four ingredients in the water, and then beat the water with the eggs. If the water is hot, let it cool down before mixing. Strain the egg through a very fine mesh. Divide a few pieces of chicken, Japanese fish cake, some shrimp, slices of shitake mushrooms, or whatever strikes your fancy among four ramekins. pour the egg mix over the ingredients, cover the ramekins with foil or plastic wrap, and place in a steamer. Steam over very low heat for 15 minutes. If you poke the egg and clear liquid oozes out, the egg's done. If murky liquid comes out, keep it in the steamer and check every minute. If you overcook the egg or let it start steaming at too high a heat, your egg will have giant bubbles in it. This last bit is the part I'm having trouble with.

The rest of dinner was just some gan lan and Chinese sausage with garlic slices. Mmm, garlic.