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Rice bowl dish: Oyako-don

By Yoshi, May 24, 2011


 

 
We have a lot of “Rice bowl dishes” in Japan, consisting of fish, meat, vestables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice. We call them “Donburi” (どんぶり, 丼), and we called them “ingredients” + “Don” (“Don” is short for “Donbiri”).
For example, Gyu-don (Beef bowl dish), Kaisen-don (Seafood bowl dish), Katsu-don (Deep fried pork bowl dish) etc.

Today I’ll introduce a bowl dish named “Oyako-don” (おやこどん, 親子丼).
 

 
Well this is “Oyako” (おやこ, 親子).
“Oyako” means “parent and child” in Japanese.
Can you guess ingredients of “Oyako-don”?
 
 

 
The answer is “Chiken & egg rice bowl dish”.
Both chicken and egg are used in the dish, so we call it “Oyako-don.
 
 
We have another answer as well.
 

 
Samon & salmon roe. This one is called “sake oyako-don”. (salmon oyako don).

Traditional Japanese donburi include the following:
* Tamagodon (玉子丼): a scrambled egg mixed with sweet donburi sauce on rice.
* Oyakodon (親子丼): simmered chicken, egg and onion on rice.
* Katsudon (カツ丼): breaded deep-fried pork cutlets (tonkatsu), onion, and egg on rice.
* Tenshindon (天津丼): a Chinese-Japanese specialty, consisting of a crabmeat omelet on rice; this dish is named for Tianjin, China.
* Tekkadon (鉄火丼): thin-sliced raw tuna over rice. Spicy tekkadon is made with what can be a mix of spicy ingredients, a spicy orange sauce, or both (usually incorporates spring onions).
* Negitorodon (ネギトロ丼): diced toro (fatty tuna) and negi (spring onions) on rice.
* Tendon (天丼): tempura shrimp and vegetables on rice.
* Gyūdon (牛丼): beef and onion on rice.
* Unadon (鰻丼): unagi kabayaki (grilled eel) on rice.

Taste them and find your favorite one!