Oyakodon

This is one of the most simple, yet delicious rice dishes I think I've had in a Japanese restaurant. Oyakodon, which translates into "parent and child rice bowl," is a dish where chicken and eggs are cooked with a sauce and then spooned on top of a bowl of rice. It's filling in that it satisfies all of the necessary senses - savory and sweet. And the good thing - you can usually find most of these ingredients in your pantry.

I have a couple of substitutes though in case you don't have some of the more unusual ingredients. (I actually didn't have dashi when I made this the first time and substituted for a little chicken broth.)

Dashi - can be substituted for chicken broth + salt or miso soup if you have it

Mirin - japanese rice wine, can be substituted for Chinese rice wine which is cheaper and a bit of sugar. If you just have normal white vinegar, I would suggest diluting it a bit with water just to take off that edge and then adding a teaspoon or so of sugar to sweeten the vinegar as mirin is a sweetened rice wine.

Get rice started

Chicken Thighs and Sliced Onions

Soften onions for 5 minutes on medium heat. Cook sliced chicken for an additional 5 minutes on medium high.

Add dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar

Add in beaten eggs

Ingredients - 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice - 4 cups water - 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces - 1 onion, cut in half and sliced - 2 cups dashi stock - 1/4 cup soy sauce - 3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine) - 3 tablespoons brown sugar - 4 eggs

Directions 1. Rinse the rice in 3 to 4 changes of water until the rinse water is almost clear, and drain off the rinse water. Bring the rice and 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. 2. Place the chicken in a nonstick skillet with a lid, and cook and stir over medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink inside and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion, and cook and stir until the onion is soft, about 5 more minutes. Pour in the stock, and whisk in soy sauce, mirin, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, and let simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. 3. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until well-beaten, and pour over the chicken and stock. Cover the skillet, reduce heat, and allow to steam for about 5 minutes, until the egg is cooked. Remove from heat. 4. To serve, place 1 cup of cooked rice per bowl into 4 deep soup bowls, top each bowl with 1/4 of the chicken and egg mixture, and spoon about 1/2 cup of soup into each bowl.