Oyakodon is chicken and egg in seasoned broth over rice in a bowl. Oyako means parents and children, like chicken and egg, and don (donburi) means a bowl. It’s a whole meal in one bowl. It is a healthy dish since everything is boiled with no added oil. Besides being healthy, it is very quick to make and, of course, yummy! Rice absorbs flavorful dashi along with fluffy eggs — it is just delicious!
It is a very typical lunch dish you can get at casual restaurants. Udon noodle shops in Japan often have Oyakodon on their menu probably because they already have very good Dashi (fish broth) for noodles. If you have good broth, your job is half way done anyway. But because we are outside Japan, it is hard to find udon noodle shops and good Oyakodon. Luckily, it is easy to make at home with ingredients that are easy to find anywhere.
If your white rice is covered with meat and things or soaked with some brown sauce, it is usually not a high class dish. And Oyakodon is definitely categorized in B class gourmet. It doesn’t matter though, because it still tastes great.
Our recipe below is for one person because it is easier to make individually, but you can multiply and make a bunch at once in a bigger pan when you serve for your entire family.
Oyakodon Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Dashi
- 1/2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp Sake
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp Mirin
- 1/4 onion thinly sliced
- 1 chicken thigh cut into bite size pieces
- 1 egg
- 1/2 green onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup steamed rice
Instructions
- Add Dashi, sugar, Sake, soy sauce and Mirin in a pan. Heat until boiling.
- Add onion and cook for a minute at medium heat.
- Add chicken pieces to the pan and cook until the meat is cooked through.
- Beat egg in a small bowl and pour over the chicken and onion. Cover and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Slide egg and chicken with sauce over rice in a bowl. Sprinkle with green onion.
mika
October 6, 2013 at 9:25 pmI just made Oyakodon for the first time using this recipe! おいしかったですね！！（＾＿＾）ありがとうございます！i am very happy that i succeeded on my first try. i will make this again soon for my family!
Noriko
October 7, 2013 at 9:23 pmMika,
thanks for trying our Oyakodon recipe! We have a lot of easy recipes, so come back soon!
Roxy
October 16, 2013 at 10:44 pmI am very excited to do my grocery shopping this week because of your site. I found your instructions easy to understand and not intimidating to try. Thanks! ^_^/
Noriko
October 17, 2013 at 3:57 pmRoxy,
thanks! Hope you like our recipes!
Amin Bilal
January 11, 2014 at 5:55 amLovely site. I spent a lot of time in Japan 20 years ago and I rarely find the same food in London unless you go to a very very expensive restaurant. We will try some of these recipes at home. One special request: Japanese food is famous for being very healthy. Please make a section on healthy options.
Noriko
January 12, 2014 at 8:48 pmAmin,
Thanks for the comment! Hope you like our recipes!
Jenna
July 22, 2014 at 10:22 amJust tried making oyakodon last night using this recipe. My husband and son love it. Thank you for ur easy to follow recipe. Do you mind to recommended some other easy to cook food like this?
Noriko
September 13, 2014 at 5:17 pmJenna,
very similar one is salmon and egg Donburi. Gyudon is also a easy rice bowl recipe with beef.
Ann
August 11, 2014 at 1:47 pmHi,
This recipe looks delicious! I just wanted to ask if there’s anything I can use in place of the sake. I go to college in a small town in Minnesota and there’s no way for me to get my hands on any cooking sake since there are no Asian grocers anywhere near my area. I can find mirin online but I can’t seem to find cooking sake. Is there something I can use as a substitute? Thanks!
Panjita
September 18, 2014 at 8:15 pmI made this one last night… The recipe is very simple and the outcome has an authentic taste…. I ommit the dashi and sake (cause I dont have it), then I add some salt to the chicken… The result is stunning… Everybody love it… Thank you so muucchh…. 🙂
Noriko
September 19, 2014 at 11:46 amPanjita,
glad you liked our Oyakodon Recipe. Check out our new Katsudon recipe too!
Stacie Nakagawa
January 15, 2016 at 8:49 pmWhat would be a good substitute for the dashi? Would chicken broth or water work?
Noriko
January 18, 2016 at 10:47 pmStacie,
it may be less flavorful, but water is ok.
orinoco womble
April 8, 2016 at 4:00 amI have a different recipe for this dish, that has you simmer 3 dried shiitake mushrooms in a cup of water and use the liquid, in place of dashi stock. If you can’t get bonito flakes to make dashi, it’s a viable substitute.
I sometimes make “cheater dashi” using water I’ve simmered for an hour with a piece of kombu kelp, and a fresh salmon head from my fishmonger. After the hour-long simmer I take out the kelp and add the salmon head, and simmer till done. Strain the broth and portion it for freezing. It’s not the same, of course, but I can’t afford bonito flakes all the time; where I live, they are enormously expensive!
Lenny
September 8, 2016 at 7:58 pmCan you stop substituting things???