Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 2 hours ago
Oyakodon is a Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl that combines tender chicken, softly cooked egg, onion, and sweet savory sauce over warm steamed rice. This recipe builds flavor with a simple broth made from dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, allowing the chicken and onion to simmer until juicy, fragrant, and lightly sweet. The egg is poured in near the end so it sets gently around the chicken while staying soft, silky, and slightly fluffy instead of dry. As the sauce soaks into the rice, each bite brings together tender meat, delicate egg, and balanced umami flavor. The final bowl is quick, comforting, and easy to make at home, working well for lunch or dinner with green onion, mitsuba, shichimi, or pickles for a classic Japanese finish.
Transcript
00:00I've tried many Oyakodon recipes but this is the ultimate answer.
00:03That's the message I received from my reader after sharing this recipe.
00:07In just 25 minutes, I'll show you how to transform basic ingredients
00:11into this Japanese comfort classic.
00:14For a printable version of this recipe, visit my website,
00:17just google Oyakodon space statue to find me.
00:19Let's start with our chicken thighs.
00:21I already cut 300g of skin on boneless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces
00:26and patted them dry with some paper towels.
00:28You want to remove that excess moisture so we can get a beautiful golden crust.
00:33Now I'm sprinkle a bit of flour and a generous pinch of salt.
00:37We're not doing a heavy breading here, just a light dusting, about one tablespoon.
00:42This thin coating is going to promote the maillard reaction
00:45and also prevents the chicken from releasing too much liquid into our sauce later.
00:51Now, grab a large frying pan and set it over medium heat.
00:55Add just enough cooking oil to coat the bottom.
00:58You'll know it's ready when it simmers but doesn't smoke.
01:02That's the sweet spot.
01:03Place your chicken pieces in a single layer, skin side down.
01:06Now, let them cook undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes until they develop the beautiful golden
01:12crust we're after.
01:13But using medium heat, we're allowing the interior to warm up gradually,
01:17while the exterior gets the perfect colour.
01:19If your heat is too high, you'll end up with tough dry meat.
01:23Once you've got the gorgeous golden crust, flip each piece and give the other side a quick sear.
01:29Don't worry if they're not fully cooked through at this point,
01:32they'll finish cooking later in our sauce.
01:35Transfer them to a plate for now.
01:38Now, wipe out the oil from the pan so we can reuse it.
01:44Pour in 100 milliliters of dashi stock, 3 tablespoons of mirin,
01:501 tablespoon of light brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder.
01:55This combination is going to create an amazing broth that forms the backbone of our dish.
02:00Next, I'm adding half an onion, which I've cut into thin wedges,
02:04and let them simmer until they become translucent and sweet.
02:07When you slow-cook onions, their cell walls break down, releasing natural sweetness,
02:12and creating this melt-in-your-mouth texture that pairs perfectly with our eggs.
02:17Speaking of dashi, you've got options here.
02:19If you're feeling fancy, go ahead and use homemade dashi stock.
02:22Want convenience with clean flavour?
02:24Try those teabuck-style dashi packets.
02:27Looking for the easiest route?
02:28Dashi granules mixed with water work great.
02:31Whatever you choose, it's going to be delicious.
02:33Once the onions have softened nicely,
02:35bring the chicken pieces back into the simmering broth, and add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
02:42While the chicken finishes cooking, let's prepare 3 eggs.
02:46I'm separating the whites and yolks into different bowls.
02:49Why go through this extra step, you might ask?
02:52Egg whites and yolks coagulate at different temperatures.
02:55By adding them separately, we get the perfect texture for both components,
02:59plus a more beautiful presentation with that vibrant yellow layer on top.
03:04Using a circular motion, pour those egg whites around the pan,
03:12then cover and reduce the heat to medium low.
03:14Let them steam for about 2-3 minutes, just until they're barely set and turning opaque.
03:20Then remove the lid, reduce the heat to the absolute lowest setting,
03:25and gently whisk those gorgeous golden yolks, just until combined.
03:30Pour the yolks over the whites, cover again, and let them steam for another 1 minute before
03:34turning off the heat completely.
03:36Goudo Yakodons should have slightly runny eggs, but feel free to cook them to your preferred
03:41donuts. This is your dinner after all.
03:44In my previous video, I used a special individual pan used in Donbury restaurants.
03:50This time I'm using a regular pan, so I want to show you how to plate it up beautifully.
03:54So I'm just using a spatula to break it into pieces that will fit snugly in my serving balls.
04:01The goal here is to avoid breaking the egg too much.
04:04For this pan, 4 pieces is good, but if you used a bigger pan, you might need to cut it
04:09smaller.
04:10It depends on the size of your balls.
04:13Divide your rice into bowls and top with equal portions of our chicken and egg mixture.
04:19This is the tricky part. We're going to carefully slide each piece on top of the rice.
04:23I used 2 pieces per bowl. You can fill in the gaps with loose onions.
04:28Be gentle here. Use a spatula or a large serving spoon to transfer everything
04:32without breaking the beautiful egg layer we've created.
04:35There will be some sauce left over in the pan, so just drizzle that over the top so
04:39that it can seep into the rice for extra flavour.
04:42For the finishing touch, garnish with some mitsuba, that's Japanese wild parsley,
04:46and a sprinkle of shredded nori and shichimi togarashi.
04:49Not only do these add a fresh contrast in flavour, but they also make a dish look absolutely gorgeous.
04:56And there you have it, an ultimate Oyakodon.
04:58Give it a try, and I hope you'll be making this again and again.
05:03Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time, and if you're ready to cook,
05:07grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up
05:11on your screen. Here we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen for you now,
05:15and if you want to watch more similar videos, don't miss my lunch playlist popping up on your screen
05:19as well. Thanks so much for watching, and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye.
Comments

Recommended