Image Credit to: Claudia Hirafuji
Don is a Japanese dish that comprises stir-fried meat such as beef, chicken, fish or pork cutlet and vegetables served in a rice bowl. This chicken mushroom don features deliciously flavoured Japanese rice topped with chicken and 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 ideal for those that have little time to cook.
Japanese rice bowls are not only available at restaurants on the street but also a favourite to make at home. The Japanese believe that the rice bowl brings comfort and warmth. If you mastered this basic version of Donburi, you can then move on to learn how to prepare a katsudon, which is fried pork cutlet in a rice bowl.
Ingredients (1 serving):
- 200g of Japanese rice
- 260ml of water
- 200g of cabbage
- 1 whole carrot
- Half an onion
- ½ pack of shiitake mushrooms
- 1 pack of shimeji mushrooms
- 1 chicken thigh
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 sachet of dashi stock powder
- Spring onions
- Sake (optional)
Directions:
- Wash the rice with water repeatedly until the water becomes clear.
- Leave the rice to soak for around 15 minutes and drain the water off.
- Prepare a stock using 260 ml of water and a sachet of dashi stock powder. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons for later.
- Add the remaining stock to the rice and cook.
- Cut the cabbage, carrots and onions into strips. Slice the shiitake mushrooms and break apart the shimeji mushrooms from their stems. Cut the chicken thigh into cubes.
- Then fry the cabbage, carrots, onions and all the mushrooms in a saucepan with the sesame oil until all the ingredients become soft.
- Add in the chicken thigh cubes and cook over medium heat. Add in soy sauce and the remaining dashi stock reserved previously.
- Beat the 2 eggs evenly.
- Pour in beaten eggs into the frying pan and stir-fry.
- Mix until everything is evenly combined while the eggs are still a little runny, silky and moist.
- Add the sake for a better flavour of the sauce.
- Scoop the rice into rice bowls and top with the chicken, mushrooms and vegetables.
- Cut some spring onions and place it on the rice for better flavour. Serve hot.