Virtual Vacation: Oyako Donburi

Tokyo, Japan - Sometimes travel doesn't seem worth the trouble. We had just spent hours and hours on a flight, only to be almost turned back from Narita International Airport due to passport problems. Immigration must have felt sympathy for the desperation in our faces, because we were eventually released. The next few hours were spent in a series of bus and taxi rides through the dead of night, Tokyo suburbs sliding by in a weary fog before we finally stepped off one last subway. Half a mile further by foot and we arrived at our friend's tiny apartment, our home base for the next seven days.

The next morning, we awoke to the quiet cooking from the kitchen where Kaoru was preparing a breakfast of oyako donburi for her new houseguests. After the emotional rollercoaster ride at the airport, the meal was just what we needed to sooth our souls.

Literally, o-yako combines words for parent and child, referring to both the chicken and the egg sitting atop a bowl of rice. Donburi describes the porcelain bowl. I didn't learn all this until much later though. At that moment, oyako donburi was the perfect comfort food to welcome us to Japan, warm, soothing and savory.

Oyako Donburi
serves 2

• 6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced very thin
• 3 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried), sliced into 1/4 strips
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 T. dashi no moto
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 2 T. mirin
• 1 T. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 c. cooked rice

Start rice cooking. Slice chicken and set aside. If you're using dried shiitake mushrooms, soak them in hot water for five minutes to soften, then discard stems. Slice the mushrooms and onion, then set aside.

Combine water, dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a skillet and heat until just boiling. Add chicken, mushrooms, and onion. Allow to simmer until the chicken is just barely done, just a few minutes. Beat the eggs and pour them over the chicken mixture. Cover and allow to cook another minute, until the eggs have set.

To serve, place a scoop of rice in an individual bowl. Lay a section of the egg/chicken across the rice then ladle a small amount of broth over the top.

This post is my second for the Virtual Vacation Contest. I had a hard enough time narrowing down to just two recipes. Limiting to only one was out of the question. The previous vacation recipe was for bánh xèo.