Ingredients
- ½ large onion peeled
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8–10 ounces)
- 4 large eggs
Sauce:
- ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock)*
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 2 Tbsps soy sauce
- 2 Tbsps mirin
- 1 tsp sugar
For Serving:
- 3–4 cups cooked short-grain rice
- 2 Scallions thinly sliced on an angle
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) or ground sansho pepper (optional)
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- Combine the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sake.
- Stir to combine until the sugar is dissolved.
- Set aside.
Make the dish:
- Cut the onions thinly and set aside.
- Trim the chicken of any fat or gristle.
- Dice the chicken into large 1 ½ inch pieces.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and using a pair of chopsticks, cut through the egg whites and egg yolks 6-8 times so that the eggs look like a marbled pattern. Try not to whisk the eggs. You want to keep the eggs with a marbled yellow and white pattern.
- Add the onions and the sauce to a medium 10” pan and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the chicken. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally so the chicken cooks evenly.
- Make sure the chicken and onions are evenly distributed in the pan so your servings will have a good balance of meat and veg.
- Slowly pour the eggs evenly over the simmering chicken and lower the heat to medium low.
- Sprinkle half of the scallions evenly over the pan.
- Cook the eggs for 3-4 minutes until the eggs are gently set, but still soft and a little runny. (Japanese people prefer their eggs undercooked. You can put a lid on the pan and cook for a little longer if you prefer your eggs more done.)
- Portion your steamed rice into 2 serving bowls.
- Divide the omelet and put half into each bowl, topping with the pan sauce (I like mine rather wet so I use all of the sauce).
- Sprinkle the remaining scallions over each bowl and add a little Japanese pepper as desired.
- Serve Oyakodon immediately.
Notes
*For the steamed rice, start with 1½ cups of uncooked short-grain rice which will yield just over 4 cups of cooked rice, enough for 2 donburi servings. For instructions, see perfect rice.
*If you plan on doubling this recipe, use 2 medium 10” pans instead of a larger pan for better temperature control in setting the eggs.
*If you do not have dashi prepared, you can use dashi packets or powder for a quick substitute. For the dashi packet, bring 1 cup of water to a simmer on high heat. Add the dashi packet and lower heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes and then steep for an additional 5 minutes. Strain out the packet and pour out ½ cup. If you’re using instant powder, combine ½ cup water with ½ teaspoon of dashi powder. Stir to combine and continue with the recipe.
*you can substitute gluten free soy sauce for the sauce. For vegetarians, use kombu/shiitake broth for the sauce and plant based meat alternative or tofu for the chicken.
Keywords: rice, rice bowl, eggs, japanese, oyako don, oyakodon, chicken