Mitsuba Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken Egg Rice Bowl with Mitsuba Herb)
Quick answer
This Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl features chicken thighs and sliced onions simmered in dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin.
What makes this special
- Mitsuba Oyakodon tops steamed rice with simmered chicken and egg, finished with fresh wild parsley.
- Mitsuba's bright herbal freshness cuts through the rich egg-chicken base
- Egg poured in two stages creates both set and silky runny layers
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Cut 280g chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces and thinly slice 1 onion.
- 2 Combine 200ml dashi, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, and 1 tsp sugar in a small pan.
- 3 Add the onion and simmer for 3 minutes until soft.
This Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl features chicken thighs and sliced onions simmered in dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin. The chicken is cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked in the broth until tender. Beaten eggs are added in two batches: the first half is allowed to set slightly before the remainder is poured, creating a mixture of firm and silky, runny textures. To keep the egg texture soft, it is important not to overbeat the eggs before cooking. Fresh mitsuba, a Japanese wild parsley, is cut into four-centimeter pieces and placed on top during the last twenty seconds of cooking with the lid closed. This brief steaming preserves its delicate celery-like fragrance and green color. Letting the dish rest off the heat for thirty seconds before serving over warm rice ensures a smooth custard-like texture that coats each grain.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Cut 280g chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces and thinly slice 1 onion.
- 2Control
Combine 200ml dashi, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, and 1 tsp sugar in a small pan.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- 3Control
Add the onion and simmer for 3 minutes until soft.
Add the chicken and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until fully cooked through.
- 4Finish
Lightly beat 4 eggs and pour in two batches.
Add the first half, wait 10 seconds, then add the rest. This creates an evenly distributed soft-set finish.
- 5Control
Cut 20g mitsuba into 4cm pieces and add to the pan.
Cover and cook for just 20 seconds, then turn off the heat. Mitsuba's delicate aroma fades quickly with heat, so brief cooking is key.
- 6Finish
Serve 1 cup of warm rice in a bowl and slide the topping over it.
Eat right away before the egg sets too firm.
After the steps
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Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl
Oyakodon simmers bite-size chicken thigh and sliced onion in a soy-mirin broth, then binds everything with a soft-set egg before sliding it over steamed rice. The name means 'parent and child,' referring to the chicken and egg sharing the same bowl. Onion goes into the broth first to release its natural sweetness, followed by the chicken, which cooks just until tender. Beaten eggs are poured in a circular motion and the lid goes on briefly, leaving the egg custardy rather than fully set. That half-cooked egg absorbs the savory-sweet broth and coats each grain of rice. Despite using only a handful of ingredients, the layered umami from soy sauce and mirin gives the dish a satisfying depth.
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Soboro-don is a Japanese-style rice bowl that tops steamed rice with two side-by-side mounds: savory minced chicken and sweet scrambled egg. The chicken is seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and ginger juice, then stirred constantly with chopsticks over medium heat until it breaks into fine, crumbly grains that are individually coated in glaze. The egg is treated the same way - beaten, poured into a pan, and stirred into soft, fluffy curds. Arranged half-and-half on the rice, the brown chicken and bright yellow egg create a visual contrast that makes the bowl inviting. Both toppings share a gentle sweetness balanced by soy umami, and their fine, loose texture means every bite blends effortlessly with the rice beneath.
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