Chicken Donburi (Oyakodon)
I have been eating out a lot more lately due to changes in my work schedule, which makes me yearn for home-cooked meals constantly. A donburi (Japanese rice bowl dish) such as this chicken donburi aka oyakodon is a great way to cook for the family without slaving in the kitchen.
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The Japanese name of chicken donburi, Oyakodon (親子丼), literally and poetically translates as “parent-and-child donburi” – where the “parent” is the chicken and the “child” is the egg. Chicken, egg and onions are simmered in a quick dashi sauce and served over steamed rice. This is a great 30-minute one-dish-meal, though if I have a bit more time, I will whip up a fast and easy Japanese wafu salad (preparing the salad dressing the night before) for extra greens on the table.
I love to use the chicken thigh cut as the chicken remains tender and juicy after cooking. The bulk of the work in cooking this dish is the preparation of the chicken. I use kitchen scissors to remove the bones and trim the extra fats (which you can opt to leave on for additional flavour), then slice the chicken to bite-sized pieces. The chicken is ready to cook after marinating in soy sauce and mirin for 15 minutes.
Chicken Donburi Recipe
If you slice the chicken to bigger pieces than shown in the photos, increase the simmering time in step 2 by a few more minutes.
Ingredients:
- 200 grams boneless and skinless chicken thigh cut to bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp mirin
- 1/2 onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 stalk negi (Japanese scallion) sliced thinly and diagonally; or use mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 serving cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- dashes of Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven flavor chili pepper) to serve
(A) Sauce
- 100 ml dashi stock cheat by using 1/2 tsp dashi powder with hot water
- 1 tbsp sake optional
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp mirin
- 1 tsp ginger juice
Directions:
- Marinade chicken thigh with soy sauce and mirin for 15 minutes.
- Add (A) to a wok pan. Bring to a simmer. Add and distribute onions and marinated chicken evenly in the pan. Cook until the chicken pieces are cooked on the surface, and simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Gently pour the beaten egg evenly over the contents of the saucepan. When the egg is half-cooked, turn off the heat, scatter the scallions over the egg, put on the lid and let the egg continue cooking in the heat for a few more seconds until it reaches the desired consistency (almost cooked but still runny, with moist & silky appearance).
- To serve, ladle cooked Japanese rice to two serving bowls. Divide and ladle the egg over the rice and top with dashes of shichimi togarashi.