"Oyakodon" (親子丼) is a humble, cheap and quick dish that is popular in homes and restaurants alike! Made with succulent chicken thigh, soft onions and fluffy steamed egg served over Japanese rice, oyakodon is a comforting dish that you can easily make at home!
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What is Oyakodon?
Oyakodon literally means "Parent and child rice bowl" and this usually refers to the chicken and the egg.
Chicken and egg is not the only kind of oyakodon though! There is also salmon oyakodon made with fish and ikura salmon roe (those orange fish eggs).
Funnily enough, if you use pork instead of chicken for this dish, the name is changed to "Tanindon" (他人丼) which means "other people rice bowl" and refers to the fact that pork and egg are not related. Interesting right?
A Brief History of Oyakodon
It is said that Oyakodon came around in the Meiji period (1868-1912) or maybe even earlier! It is the second oldest donburi recipe, with Gyuudon as the first.
The origin of Oyakodon can't really be confirmed, but apparently it was created in either Tokyo or Osaka.
Where ever it was invented, this dish is a very quick and humble recipe, good for a quick lunch or a hearty dinner!
What is "Don"?
"Don" is short for "donburi" which means rice bowl in Japanese. If you see "don" at the end of the name of a recipe, it means it's served on top of a bowl of rice. We have lots of donburi recipes on our blog. Here's just a few for you to check out if you like donburi!
OTHER KINDS OF DONBURI
- Katsudon (pork cutlet and egg)
- Gyudon (beef and onion)
- Chashu don (chashu pork)
- Yakiniku don (Korean BBQ style beef)
- Smoked Salmon and Avocado donburi
- Karaage don (fried chicken)
- Garlic Teriyaki Chicken don
If you're unsure how to cook rice for donburi, check out our guide on how to cook Japanese style rice on the stove. (No rice cooker required!)
FAQ
Oyakodon (親子丼) literally means parent and child rice bowl.
Oyakodon is most commonly made with chicken and egg, but it can also be made with salmon and fish roe called "ikura".
Donburi dishes are always made with short grain Japanese white rice. Most Japanese families have a rice cooker and that makes donburi recipes quick and easy, but you can also cook Japanese style rice on the stove. I have a post about it here.
The sauce is made with typical Japanese ingredients such as soy sauce, mirin, sake. I use tsuyu sauce in my recipe for extra umami.
Check out our video for How to Make Quick & Easy Oyakodon
Print
Classic Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl Oyakodon (親子丼)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 Servings 1x
Description
Classic Japanese "Oyakodon" chicken and egg rice bowl. Sticky Japanese white rice topped with fried chicken thigh, simmered onions and fluffy egg. This dish is comforting and super quick to make!
Ingredients
- 300g (1½ cups) cooked white rice
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 (100g) white onion
- 200g (approx ½lb) chicken thigh (see note)
- 2 medium Eggs
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sake (See note)
- 1 teaspoon tsuyu (Either shop-bought or you can make your own with our recipe here)
- 1 tablespoon spring onions and/or nori (for garnish)
Instructions
- First, slice the onion and cut 200g of chicken into bite size pieces.
- Break 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk.
- Heat your frying pan on medium high and add the vegetable oil. Fry the chicken in the pan until browned.
- Add the onion to the frying pan with 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon mirin, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon sake and 1 teaspoon of tsuyu. Cook until the sauces are reduced to half (takes approximately 5 mins).
- Pour half of the whisked egg over the chicken and onions.
- When the egg is cooked through and holding its shape, add the other half of the egg.
- Fry for about 20 seconds and turn off the heat, the 2nd half of the egg should be soft. (If you don't like runny egg you can cook it a bit longer.)
- Dish up the rice into two bowls and divide the contents of the frying pan into two, placing it on top of the rice.
- Sprinkle spring onions or nori over the top.
- Enjoy!
Notes
You don't have to use chicken thigh, this dish is good with any part!
If you can’t find sake then you can substitute with dry sherry or white wine
The alcohol in the sake and mirin will be cooked away but if you really don’t want to use it, you can just add water instead.
If you don't have a rice cooker, you can use this method to cook Japanese style rice.
- Category: Donburi
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Japanese
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