Oyakodon is a Japanese home-cooked rice bowl where tender chicken thigh and onion simmer in a sweet soy-mirin broth, then topped with silky beaten eggs and mitsuba for a dish that balances savory umami with delicate egg texture.
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Thinly slice the onion. Pluck the mitsuba leaves and cut the stems into 3 cm (1.2 in.) lengths. Cut the chicken into roughly 2 cm (0.8 in.) squares.
Put the measured water and chicken into a fry pan and heat over medium. Stir briefly, and once it comes to a boil, skim off any scum. Add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar (ingredients A), and when it comes to a boil again, cover with a lid, reduce to low heat, and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the onion, bring to a boil again, cover, and simmer on low heat for another 3 minutes.
Scoop the rice into serving bowls. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Remove the lid from the fry pan and increase to medium-high heat. Pour in two-thirds of the beaten eggs in a thin stream over the entire pan. When the ingredients become mostly set and firm, pour in the remaining egg. Once the eggs reach your desired consistency, turn off the heat. This entire simmered mixture is the oyako-ni. Spoon it, along with the soup, over the rice and top with mitsuba to garnish.
Store the cooked oyako-ni (chicken and broth only, without eggs) in an airtight container up to 2 days; reheat gently on low heat and add fresh beaten eggs at serving time.
Chicken breast works but will be drier; thigh stays juicier during the 3-minute simmer. If using breast, reduce simmering time slightly and watch for overcooking.
Mitsuba adds a fresh, herbal finish and traditional flavor. You can omit it or substitute with green onion or parsley, though the authentic taste will differ.
Pour beaten eggs in a thin stream over medium-high heat, then stop stirring. The residual heat sets them gently. Pour the remaining third only after the first portion is mostly firm.
The chicken-onion broth keeps refrigerated up to 2 days; reheat gently before adding eggs. Add eggs fresh at serving time for best silky texture.
Substitute 2 Tbsp mirin with 1 Tbsp sugar plus 1 Tbsp sake or water; the dish will be slightly less complex but still balanced.
