Image Credit to: taste of japan
Rice dishes are absolute favourites for most Asians as rice is our staple food. Donburi or don, for short, is a Japanese dish which consists of stir-fried meat such as beef, chicken, fish or pork cutlet and vegetables served on a rice bowl.
Donburi simply means bowl in the native Japanese tongue, indicating that the food is served in a bowl. It is a staple dish for all Japanese. Japanese rice bowls are not only available at restaurants on the street but also a favourite to make at home. This dish is also convenient to be packed in a bento.
What is Chicken Mushroom Don?
This chicken mushroom don features nice flavoured Japanese rice topped with marinated chicken and shiitake mushrooms suitable to have any time, especially for lunch or dinner. This one-pot meal is simple to prepare as it comes together in less than 30 minutes and suitable for those that don’t have much time to cook. Nowadays this dish is also served as an after-hours dish for staff working in a restaurant using leftover food materials of that day.
Elements In A Donburi
The sauce used for different types of donburi might be different, but the sauce for a donburi consists typically of dashi, mirin, soy sauce and sugar. Each ingredient plays a role in building the flavour profile of the dish and any missing components will affect the taste of the dish.
The rice used in a donburi is the normal standard Japanese rice used across different Japanese dishes. The time for cooking the rice greatly affects the texture of the dish. Usually, the rice is cooked until it is slightly hard for it to remain in its solid form after soaking in the donburi sauce.
History Of Chicken Mushroom Don
The history of donburi can be traced back to the Edo era (1603 – 1867) in Japan. The first ever don to appear in Japan was the unagi don. A broiled eel was placed on a bowl of hot steamy rice and the dish was commonly eaten in the theatre.
Since then, the dish grew popular and spread across regions in Japan due to its easy preparation methods. At the same time, rice dishes such as chameshi-ya (rice cooked in Japanese tea) was also similarly popular, and thus restaurants serving rice bowls started to appear all over Japan.
Different types of donburi also began to gain popularity all around Japan after the Meiji era (1868 – 1912) in Japan. Deep frying pork was popular as Emperor Meji brought western cooking culture into Japan and the ban on eating pork was lifted.
Types Of Chicken Mushroom Don
There are various types of chicken mushroom don in Japanese restaurants. You can find the chicken fried or simmered, while the mushrooms can be from enoki to shiitake mushrooms. One can also easily cook this dish at home, using the ingredients desired. If you master this basic version of Donburi, you can also move on to learn how to prepare a gyudon, which is stir-fried beef served on a big bowl of steamy hot rice.
How To Eat A Donburi
Donburi can simply be eaten with a pair of chopsticks, also known as hashi in Japanese, along with a spoon. One mixes the sauce and rice together, then eat the rice with a spoon and the topping using chopsticks.
Where To Find Chicken Mushroom Don In Malaysia
Chicken mushroom don can be found in all sushi restaurant chains in Malaysia. It can also be found at the lesser known Japanese stalls or eateries that are hidden in certain neighbourhoods.
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