Oyakodon

Jessica here. Today, I used my wiles to convince Staci and Jamie to come over after class and make Oyakodon (親子丼) with me. In Japanese, "oya" means "parent" and "ko" is "child," so "oyokodon" basically means "Parent and child donburi." It consists of chicken and egg. Pretty cute, huh?

This recipe is pretty easy, although not super speedy. I modified it slightly off of an English recipe I found via google. So here it goes:



Oyakodon 親子丼
makes about 4 servings
1 large or medium sized onion
2 small chicken breasts, or one large chicken breast
about 1/4 head cabbage, chopped medium (optional)
Dashi (fish stock- I dissolved about 1 Tbsp in 1 1/2 cups of hot water)
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Mirin
1 Tbsp Sugar
2-3 eggs (or to match preference) mixed slightly
---
about 2 cups rice

1. Slice onion. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to the bottom of a pot; heat over medium-low to medium heat. Add Onions in one layer on the bottom of the pan. Don't stir them, just let them sit there and begin to cook. They'll be there for a while, so make sure the heat isn't too high or they will burn.

2. Cut your chicken into small cubes-- about 1/4 inch cubes are good. If they seem really small to you, don't worry. It's better they be a little too small than a little too big. Place chicken in a layer over the onions.

3. Mix your wet ingredients together: Dashi, Soy Sauce, Mirin, and Sugar. Pour the sauce over the chicken and onions-- aim to cover the chicken so everything cooks through. (If you don't have enough sauce to cover the chicken, you can cover the pot for a bit while cooking to ensure the chicken on top is cooked).
(Now's a good time to start the rice-- cook according to your rice's directions!!)

4. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer until reduced by about half. Now's the time to add the cabbage, if you so desire (I like cabbage in mine!) The cabbage will cook down a lot so don't worry if it looks like a lot. Let it simmer for a while longer, until much of the liquid is gone.

5. Pour your lightly mixed egg on top and cook until it reaches your desired cooked-ness. In Japan, the eggs are usually left pretty raw and runny, but if you want yours more cooked that is totally okay! Oyakodon on top of it. With this recipe, I usually make about 4 servings, so just cut the pan into fourths and dish out the goodness.