Home Made Oyako don

March 31, 2013

Last Christmas Bosco and I went to Kyoto and met up with my Japanese friend Yui. She brought us to the restaurant where shabu shabu was invented, introduced us to the traditions of prayer-making at Kiyomizu-dera, and we even saw a real Maiko (geisha in training- yeah I thought they didn’t exist anymore too!)

Here’s a picture of me and Yui in Kyoto (eating a cream puff!)

Bosco and I are super fond of Japanese food and get really inspired every time we travel, so of course we had to ask Yui how to cook Japanese food at home. Yui taught us the secret to many Japanese dishes is soba sauce (つゆ tsu-yu sauce)! In particular this oyako don, which may look really complicated but is surprisingly easy! Who can resist half cooked egg, sweet onions, and juicy chicken on a bed of saucy Japanese rice?! I’ve been trying different methods/proportions nonstop and this has become my favourite. Please give it a try and let me know how it goes ^^

Difficulty Level: 1/3 (the only difficult part would be cooking the eggs perfectly, but the rest is very straight forward, suitable for a weekday meal)

*Thanks YATCH for the great suggestion 🙂 *

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Portion: 1 person

Ingredients:

1 free range chicken thigh (skin- and bone-less)
2 eggs
half a white onion
2 pieces spring onion
shredded seaweed
Japanese “seven flavour” seasoning (Nanami Togarashi)
Japanese rice

Sauce :

40-50 ml soba (つゆ tsu-yu) sauce
40-50 ml water
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon sugar

Timer: 0 minutes

1. Preparation

Remove the fat from the chicken and slice into even 1 inch pieces

2. Gently beat your eggs but do not beat until smooth. Why? Because egg white cooks faster than yolk and you want some parts more cooked than the other to get that perfect fluffy texture.

Have you noticed how egg white tends to clump together when you’re beating it? To prevent large chunks of egg white in your dish later on, use your chopsticks to pull apart the egg white up the side of the bowl.

3. Thinly slice the onion vertically along the fibres (the onion will retain its texture and flavour better)

4. Slice off the white stalk of the spring onion

5. Finely chop up the green parts of the spring onion

Want to try making those delicate spring onion twirls?

a. cut the spring onion into 1.5 inch strips (if it’s too long they will tangle)

b. slice into two pieces vertically

c. layer 4 pieces on top of each other and slice thinly

d. to make them curl, soak them in ice water or soak them in the fridge

*Ok, even though I think these are extra pretty I know it’s totally not necessary, so just chop them however you like!*

All the ingredients prepared

Timer: 20 minutes

6. Use a pan about the size of your rice bowl so that the eggs can slide nicely onto the bowl later. Try to find a see-through lid which will allow you to see how the food is cooking (very useful later on when cooking the eggs). My pan originally came with the green lid on the left but I just used another pot’s lid.

7. Over medium heat, boil the sauce

*every brand of tsu-yu sauce has a different concentration, so taste test it first, it should be too salty to drink but ok for dipping, adjust accordingly if necessary*

8. Mix in the onions and white stalk of spring onions and let it boil with the lid on to prevent too much sauce from evaporating

Cook until they soften and flavour of the onions have come out

Timer: 28 minutes

9. Mix in the chicken, let it cook with the lid on

When they’re half cooked, flip the chicken around so that the other side gets cooked in the sauce too.

Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, it’s ready

Timer: 35 minutes

10. How to get the perfectly cooked eggs!

The best part about this dish is the half cooked eggs dripping onto the rice. Here’s an easy method to ensure you get the perfect eggs!

Slowly and gently pour 2/3 the eggs on top and use your chopsticks to distribute the eggs evenly

Use your see-through lid to cover it and watch for when the eggs are almost thoroughly cooked (approx. 30-40 seconds)

When the bottom layer is almost cooked through like so, it’s ready

Add the remaining 1/3 EVENLY on top

Add the spring onions, cover with the lid, then turn the heat off

Watch through the lid, when the eggs look about 20% less done than you would like, take off the lid (approx 10-20 seconds)

*cook the eggs to your own liking, but keep in mind the residual heat will further cook the eggs, so don’t overcook and serve right away! *

*Try to use a rice bowl with a wide opening and narrow bottom, it’s a lot easier to pour into and you don’t need to fill the bottom with too much rice.

Directly slide onto your rice, you should have just enough sauce to seep through most of the rice but not enough to flood the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle with shredded seaweed and Japanese “seven flavour” seasoning.

Timer: 45 minutes

Japanese food is all about presentation. Directly sliding it onto the rice looks a lot nicer than using a ladle to spoon it out (it will break apart and the eggs will slip away), which is why I’ve written the recipe for one person’s portion. If you’re cooking more than one portion at a time, you will have too much sauce to directly slide it onto the rice, so use a ladle with holes to spoon it onto the rice then pour the desired amount of sauce on top.

I hope you enjoy it and if you try this please send me a picture! Also, please enter your e-mail on the left to subscribe and leave your comments below, it would totally make my day! : D

Category : Cooked For TWO

Tags : asian, bowl, chicken, cooking, don, easy, egg, fast, food, homemade, japanese, oyako, recipe, rice, tips, tricks

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18 thoughts on “Home Made Oyako don”

Geoff on March 31, 2013 at 8:57 pm said:

Very impressive Crystal! Keep up the good work!

Reply ↓
- crystalandbosco on March 31, 2013 at 9:40 pm said:
  
  Thanks a lot Geoff! I’m really happy that you like it, pls come up for dinner soon and I hope you’re having fun in Bali! 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
duaimei on March 31, 2013 at 9:14 pm said:

That looks delicious! I’m going to try this recipe later!

Reply ↓
- crystalandbosco on March 31, 2013 at 9:41 pm said:
  
  Thanks a lot! Pls let me know how it goes 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
  - duaimei on March 31, 2013 at 10:50 pm said:
    
    I will! By “I’m going to try this recipe later” I meant that I emailed my boyfriend the recipe and I will give him puppy dog eyes until he makes it for me.
    
    I’m a disaster in the kitchen.
  - crystalandbosco on April 1, 2013 at 1:13 am said:
    
    Hahaha you’re super lucky ur bf would do that for you 🙂
Kat on April 1, 2013 at 3:01 am said:

Looks soo mouth-watering, I am gonna try it!!!

Reply ↓
- crystalandbosco on April 1, 2013 at 3:28 am said:
  
  Hehehe thanks bb! Pls try it and let me know how it goes, if u have any questions msg me anytime 😉 miss you!!!
  
  Reply ↓
Cally on April 1, 2013 at 3:50 am said:

Last time was sticky rice cakes and now half-cooked egg on rice? you’re making everything I like!!! ❤

Reply ↓
- crystalandbosco on April 1, 2013 at 11:14 am said:
  
  Ahahhaa thanks Cally I hope u try them out!! :)))))
  
  Reply ↓
Yui on April 3, 2013 at 2:55 pm said:

You are such a good cook!
Thank you for trying my Oyakodon recipe and making it even a better one!
Your oyakodon looks so good with some nori (seaweed…in English?) and
spring onion:D
I’ll let you know if I find some more Japanese recipes I want you to try!

I’ll check your blog some time:D

Reply ↓
Rachel on April 8, 2013 at 8:35 am said:

Looks like the oyako don is perfectly cooked! Very scrumptious looking 😉

Reply ↓
- crystalandbosco on April 8, 2013 at 9:25 am said:
  
  Thanks dear! Pls give it a try when u have time! 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
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Allison (Spontaneous Tomato) on September 23, 2013 at 2:30 am said:

I love love love oyakodon! Yours looks great. 🙂

Reply ↓
- crystalandbosco on September 23, 2013 at 8:21 am said:
  
  Thank you so much!!!
  
  Reply ↓
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