Oyakodon

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Oyakodon

Oyakodon (親子丼, Oyakodon^?), literally "parent-and-child donburi", is a Japanese donburi, or rice bowl dish, in which chicken, egg, green onion, and other ingredients are all simmered together in a sauce and then served on top of a large bowl of rice. The name of the dish, parent and child donburi, is a poetic reflection of the fact that both chicken and egg are used in the dish. In Japan, oyakodon is often served in soba restaurants and other traditional Japanese restaurants.

The donburi simmering sauce varies according to season, ingredient, region, and taste. A typical sauce might consist of dashi flavored with shoyu and mirin. Proportions vary, but usually there is three to four times as much dashi as shoyu and mirin. For oyakodon, Tsuji (1980) recommends dashi flavored with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar.

To make oyakodon, cut chicken and other ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Heat 1/4 cup simmering sauce in a small frying pan. Add chicken (and sliced yellow onion, if desired) and simmer until chicken is cooked. Then add green onions and other ingredients. When all ingredients are cooked, slowly pour 1-2 lightly beaten eggs evenly over the whole dish. When eggs are nearly cooked (edges set), slide the topping from the pan onto hot cooked rice served in an oversized bowl. The hot rice will finish cooking the eggs.

Several other Japanese dishes pun on the parent-and-child theme of oyakodon. Tanindon (他人丼, Tanindon^?), literally "stranger bowl", is otherwise identical but replaces the chicken with beef. A dish of salmon and roe served raw over rice is known as sake oyakodon (鮭親子丼, sake oyakodon^?).