JAPAN: Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl) and Cucumbers with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)

2 cups uncooked jasmine rice, cooked

1 tablespoon neutral oil (only needed if your skillet is not nonstick)

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces

1 onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

1½ cups dashi stock (or 1½ teaspoons dashi powder — readily ordered on Amazon, if not in the market — mixed with 1½ cups hot water

¼ cup soy sauce or tamari

3 tablespoons mirin* (Japanese rice wine)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 eggs

1. Cook rice according to directions.

2. Place the onion in a large skillet with a lid. If you have nonstick, that is preferred, but if not, coat pan with 1 tablespoon neutral oil, and cook onion over medium heat uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken, and cook until just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Pour in the stock, and whisk in soy sauce, mirin, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until slightly reduced and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

3. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until well-beaten, and pour over the chicken and stock. Cover the skillet, remove from heat, and allow to steam for about 3 minutes, until the egg is cooked.

4. To serve, place 1 cup of cooked rice per bowl into 4 deep soup bowls. Top each bowl with ¼ of the chicken and egg mixture, and spoon about ½ cup of broth into each bowl.

   
   

*You may substitute sake, Shaoxing wine, or dry Sherry.

Cucumbers with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons ginger (~0.6 oz/1-inch piece), peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon white or yellow miso paste

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup canola or vegetable oil

4 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

1. Place all but cucumbers in a small food processor or blender. Pulse until blended, then run processor or blender until smooth.

2. Pour over cucumbers.

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FUN FACTS:

• Japan's literacy rate is 99%.

• There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.

• A nice muskmelon, similar to a cantaloupe, will sell for about $200, but one particularly beautiful pair sold for more than $45,000.