Oyakodon – tender bites of chicken simmered in a seasoned, silky egg mixture, served over steaming white rice. It’s a popular dish in Japan, loved for its simplicity, comforting flavour, and its quick and easy preparation!
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What is Oyakodon?
Oyakodon is a Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl. To be honest, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the name. In Japanese, ‘Oya-ko’ means ‘parent and child,’ and ‘don’ means ‘rice bowl.’ Do you get it? Because it’s chicken and egg…
Despite its slightly cynical name, it’s a bowl of pure comfort. All the classic Japanese seasonings are there—soy sauce, sake, mirin, and dashi. On days when you want something tasty yet light, Oyakodon is the answer.
It’s quick to whip up, and most of the ingredients are easy to find. Many Japanese seasonings are available in supermarkets now, and the rest are straightforward to source. If you want to buy online, I will link some of my product recommendations at the end of this post!
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends how you like it – some people cook it so that the egg is fully cooked, others will cook it so that the egg is soft and silky.
It shouldn’t be overly soupy but there will be some broth which will soak into the rice, making it a slightly soupier (but delicious) rice bowl.
Re-heating Oyakodon doesn’t result in the best texture as the egg becomes rubbery. If you don’t mind that, it’ll store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Three Tips for Making Oyakodon
- Marinate the Chicken with some sake and salt. If you don’t have sake, that’s okay, just season the chicken with salt and let sit for a bit.
- Slice the Onions vertically. Doing this helps the onions hold their shape better, which I think makes the texture nicer. Plus it ruptures less of the onion cells, so less tears!
- Garnish with Parsley, this adds a fresh boost of flavour which really compliments all the ingredients.
What to Serve with Oyakodon
Oyakodon is a whole meal in itself, but if you want to go that extra mile, I’d recommend pairing it with a comforting bowl of hot Tofu Miso Soup and a plate of Glossy Japanese Pork and Potato – yum!
If you’re looking for a variation of Oyakodon – check out my Kimchi Oyakodon recipe. This classic Oyakodon is light and delicate in flavour, but the Kimchi Oyakodon is the opposite! It’s packed with big Korean flavours like Gochujang and Kimchi. Its perfect for when you’re craving something with a serious punch of flavour.
Ingredients
- 2 servings of cooked Japanese rice
- 2 large chicken thighs (sliced into bite sized pieces)
- 1 teaspoon cooking sake
- 1 pinch of salt
- Half a white onion (sliced)
- 150 millilitres of dashi stock
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 pinch of chopped parsley
How to cook Oyakodon (Step-by-Step with Pictures).
Step by step instructions for cooking Oyakodon (with pictures).
- Prepare your rice.
Prepare two servings of Japanese white rice. I usually cook 1 cup of rice for two people, and I’ll have a small amount leftover.
- Prepare the chicken.
Marinate the chicken in 1 teaspoon of sake and a good pinch of salt. Leave it to marinade whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
- Prepare the seasonings.
Combine 150ml of dashi stock, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, and 1 tsp of sugar in a small jug.
- Prepare the eggs.
In a small jug, crack in two eggs but don’t fully combine them. Instead, pop the yolks and gently stir 1-2 times. It should resemble a marble pattern.
- Start cooking.
Add the seasonings and sliced onions into the pan and simmer for 7-10 minutes, or until the onions are semi-translucent.
- Add chicken and cook.
Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is half-way cooked. Flip the chicken and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Pour over the egg.
Once the chicken is done, gently pour the egg mixture around the pan but don’t mix it around. The aim is to have a marbled effect of white and yellows.
- Cook the egg.
Cover and cook the egg on a low heat to your desired doneness. If you like a softer egg, cook it for approximately 1-2 minutes. If you prefer it more well done, cook for about 3 minutes.
- Serve, garnish and enjoy!
Serve over a bed of rice, garnish with some chopped parsley and enjoy!
Classic Oyakodon
Equipment
- 1 Medium Sized Frying Pan
- 2 Small Jugs
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 servings cooked Japanese rice (see notes for how to cook rice)
- 2 large chicken thighs (sliced into bite sized pieces)
- 2 eggs (large)
- 1/2 sliced onion (medium sized)
Marinade
- 1 teaspoon cooking sake (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
Seasonings
- 150 mililitres dashi stock
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
Garnish
- chopped parsley (optional)
- shichimi (Japanese seven spice)
Instructions
- To your sliced chicken, add the sake and salt then let it sit whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a small jug combine the ingredients for the seasonings and set aside.
- Crack two chicken eggs into a jug. Pop the yolks and gently stir 1-2 times, it should look resemble a marble pattern.
- In a medium sized pan, add in the sliced onion and seasoning mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until the onions are semi-translucent.
- Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is half-way done. Flip the chicken and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Once the chicken is almost done, gently pour the egg mixture evenly around the pan, lower the heat and cover with a lid. For a soft and silky egg, cook for about 1-2 minutes. If you prefer well done eggs, cook for longer.
- Serve over rice, garnish with a couple pinches of fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!
Notes
Oyakodon Product Recommendations
- This Kikkoman Soy Sauce has been my go-to for as long as I can remember.
- Hinode Hon Mirin is one I used to use in Japan, if you want something smaller, this 400ml Honteri Mirin would be more suitable.
- For cooking sake, this 500ml bottle by Morita is what I would recommend.
- I love the Anjinomoto Hon Dashi Katsuo. This is the one I use in Japan.
If you have ay questions, please drop me an email at mikusu.kitchen@gmail.com or through the contact page, I would be more than happy to help.
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