This, dear friends, is Japanese comfort food -- donburi, or rice bowls. When I worked in Manhattan, there was a take-out Japanese place in the basement level of the building across the street. They made KILLER donburi. It is one of my all-time favorite cold-rainy-day-foods. Please get to know it; make friends with it. You will be so glad you did.
Donburi covers a wide spectrum of dishes involving soft, chewy rice topped with vegetables and different types of meat. My favorite is Oyakodon, or the chicken and egg donburi. Its homely, but delicious. Caramelized onions are warm, sweet and inviting. The saltiness of soy sauce contrasts beautifully with the gentle sweetness of rice wine, and both are mellowed by hot, silky chicken broth. The egg marries the chicken and rice together, and helps to soak up the delicious broth.
This version comes from a cooking light magazine, so its probably not the most authentic recipe. But its quick and easy to make, and OISHII!! (Delicious!)
Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
Serves 2 people, or 4 people following a "cooking light" diet
1.5 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
6 oz. baby spinach
1 medium onion, sliced (Vidalia is best here)
1/4 tsp salt (I prefer to skip the salt, except for a light sprinkle on the onions to help them cook)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger root
8 oz. boneless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin (Japanese rice wine) or brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
Instructions:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a wok or non-stick skillet on medium high heat. Cook the spinach until it wilts and turns dark green -- only about a minute or so. Remove the spinach from the pan.
2. Add 1.5 tsps oil to the wok. Stir in the onion and cook it for 3 or 4 minutes, until it gets nice and soft. Then sprinkle with 1/8 tsp salt. (I like to cook it for longer on medium heat, to get the onions nice and brown and caramelized.) Add ginger and continue cooking for another minute or two. Remove the onions from the pan.
3. Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining 1/8 tsp salt and add it to the work with the onions and remaining oil. Sautee, stirring frequently, until the chicken is opaque -- about 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, soy sauce and mirin. Add it to the chicken and wait until the liquid starts to bubble a bit (you may need to increase the heat). Add the spinach and onions and allow the mixture to come back to a low bubble.
5. Pour your beaten eggs over the mix. Cover the pan and cook until the eggs set, about 2 to 3 more minutes. (If your pan doesn't have a lid, just stir gently to make sure all the egg comes in contact with the liquid and cooks.)
6. Serve a half cup of rice in a deep soup bowl. Top with the chicken-egg mixture, and make sure to ladle lots of the broth into the bowl, too. Now, Itadakimasu! (Let us eat!)
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