Oyakodon and Chicken Katsudon

Two of my favorite Japanese Donburi dishes.

Donburi is a Japanese “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables, or other ingredients which are simmered in ‘Dashi’ (fish and seaweed stock),  and served over rice. Donburi meals are served in oversized Japanese bowls called donburi.

Oyakodon is cooked in one saucepan where onions, chicken, and egg are simmered in a dashi-based stock. It is then poured over a bowl of fluffy steamed Japanese rice. Utterly comforting, this is the kind of one-bowl meal you can cook 15-20 minutes.

Chicken Katsudon on the other hand – is Crispy chicken katsu served with the same’ soupy egg mixture’ over rice. Very Yummy and enjoyed by everyone! Katsu (カツ),  is a shortened form of katsuretsu (カツレツ), meaning “cutlet”.

Both Recipes are catered to the moderate palate. I have provided substitutes for the Dashi Stock and also for the small amount of alcohol (via Mirin and Sake) used in the recipe.

The Recipe Intro↓ has , more information and Pictures on the steps. Don’t forget to check it out.

Ingredients:

Japanese rice (Koshihikari) or other suitable white rice		2 cups
Boneless chicken breasts/thigh		Up to 900 gms total, divided
Dashi stock (made with Dashi Powder or Knorr Seasoning (or similar- see notes)		4-5 cups (1 cup = 240 mls)
Light soy sauce		2 Tbsp
Mirin/Japanese Sweet Rice Wine (See notes for Substitute)		4 Tbsp
Sake/ Rice Wine (See notes for Substitute)		1 Tbsp
Yellow or White Onions cut into large slices ( not finely sliced )		2
Mitsuba (Japanese parsley) or use fresh coriander leaves instead		4 Tbsp

For Oyakodon:

Egg White		1
Eggs		3

For Katsudon:

Plain flour		1 cup
Panko Japanese Breadcrumbs		1 cup
Eggs -plus- yolk from egg used for Oyakodon		2
Garlic salt		1/2 tsp
Black pepper		1/2 tsp
Oil (Sunflowere/ Vegetable)		For shallow frying

Method:

1. Soak the rice after rinsing, for 30 minutes, and drain.
2. Cook with just over 2 cups water till water is absorbed and rice is cooked. This rice may be cooked in a rice cooker or regular pot. Keep rice warm till ready to serve in the Donburi Bowls.
3. Of the 4 single chicken breasts, take three and pound gently with a kitchen mallet to flatten. I put each breast inside a large Ziploc bag to avoid any splatter.
4. Cut the remaining chicken breast into small bite-size strips and put in a bowl. Add 1 egg white to this – mix well and set aside.

    Oyakodon

1. Add 2/3 x 4 cups dashi stock or substitute stock to a medium-sized saucepan – SEE NOTES
2. Also add light soy sauce, sake, and mirin (Or use Substitutes for Sake and Mirin). Bring to a boil.
3. Add the sliced onion.
4. Add the chicken pieces, (which have been mixed with the egg white ) and simmer for 8 minutes till chicken is cooked.
5. Break 3 eggs into a bowl and beat them very lightly. You only want to break up the yolks and not whisk too much.
6. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the simmering mixture. Swirl once. Cover and simmer on med-low for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat and keep covered a while.

 

Katsudon

1. To coat the chicken cutlets, Add the plain flour to one shallow bowl, the Panko breadcrumbs to another.
2. Beat the 2 eggs plus 1 yolk mixture very well, and add to another shallow plate/bowl.
3. Take the 3 chicken breasts that have been pounded slightly. Sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper.
4. Dredge 1 piece at a time, first in the PLAIN FLOUR, to coat lightly. Then into the Egg Bowl to cover all sides lightly and lastly into the PANKO BREADCRUMBS, to coat thoroughly.
5. Heat oil for shallow frying in a frying pan. Add one coated cutlet at a time and fry on medium flame, till golden brown on both sides and cooked through.
6. Cut the cutlets into thick strips.

Assembly:

1. Add a small amount of rice to each oversized Donburi bowl. (Don’t add too much rice ).
2. Pour the eggy- chicken – onion broth over the rice.  Garnish with Mitsuba leaves or fresh Coriander – This is Oyakodon.
3. Top with appropriate portions of the crisp chicken cutlet strips and you have Katsudon!
4. Serve while the broth and cutlet are warm!

Oyakodon and Chicken Katsudon

 

Notes:

• Japanese Rice is a short-grain sticky rice, that requires some soaking time before cooking. To cook the rice add 1 1/4 cups water for every cup of rice.
• Dashi is a Japanese soup stock: a fundamental ingredient in many Japanese dishes.  Dashi can be made from dried kelp or dried fish(bonito) flakes (kombu , katsuobushi , iriko or niboshi ). Dashi powder sachets are also available to make instant dashi stock. Check out the Japanese food products at your supermarket. See the intro page for more details.
• Substitute for DASHI STOCK:  For those who find the dashi stock too fishy tasting for their taste. I found that simply by eliminating the dashi stock and using soup stock or Knorr Hao Chi All-In-One Seasoning instead of homemade dashi stock or powder. The Knorr seasoning powder works the best… You could replace this by using a mixture of 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp white pepper powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp cornflour, and 1/8 tsp brown sugar. Or you could use any salted soup stock to your taste. You can also make your own stock, using onion, pepper, leeks, garlic, cauliflower, carrot, and incorporate dried shrimp or kelp if you like it.
• SAKE:  also spelled saké is Japanese Rice wine, made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Sake has just a little hint of sweetness.
• Substitute for SAKE:  Dry Sherry or Chinese cooking wine may be used as a substitute when small amounts(as in this recipe) are used. For a Halal/Non-alcoholic substitute, you can use rice vinegar instead of sake, for small amounts of substitutions such as this recipe. I often use rice vinegar with a little chicken stock and raw sugar mixed in.
• MIRIN: Mirin is a Japanese Sweet cooking wine, which has less alcohol percentage than Sake.  It has a light syrupy texture. It adds amazing flavor to soups, noodle broths, and sauces.
• Substitute for MIRIN: You can omit the Mirin if you must, a non-alcoholic substitute would be to use 1 tablespoon vinegar or balsamic vinegar and a 1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar for every 1 tablespoon of mirin…Halal Mirin is also available which is slightly different but a good substitute and made by the same brand that makes Mirin.

  

• Adding the egg white to the cubed chicken for Oyakodon, before cooking in the stock ensures that the chicken stays tender.
• Mitsuba  Leaves: Mitsuba (Cryptotaenia japonica), also known as Japanese Wild parsley or Japanese honewort, is an herb belonging to the carrot family (Apiaceae). The name ‘Mitsuba’ means “three leaves” in Japanese and refers to the shape of the leaves. All parts of the plant are edible (including its roots) but it is primarily grown for the leaves. The flavor is fresh and mild and can be compared to a combination of Parsley,  Celery, Chervil, and Angelica.
• If you do not have garlic salt, salt and garlic powder can be mixed and used instead.
• If you are only making Oyakodon, skip the cutlets and reduce the amount of chicken in the broth by 1 breast.
• My family prefers the crispy cutlets over the rice, with just a little of the Oyakodon chicken in the broth also.

Key Ingredients: White Rice, Chicken, Onions, Stock, Egg, Herbs, Flour, Panko Breadcrumbs.

EAT AND TELL!!! Let us know if you tried –  Oyakodon and Chicken Katsudon

Mail me your pics and testimonials 🙂 – recipesaresimple@gmail.com