Oyakodon

Oyakodon (親子丼), literally "parent-and-child donburi", is a donburi, or Japanese rice bowl dish, in which chicken, egg, sliced scallion (or sometimes regular onions), and other ingredients are all simmered together in a kind of soup that is made with soy sauce and stock, and then served on top of a large bowl of rice. The name of the dish is a poetic reflection of both chicken and egg being used in the dish.^[1]

History

The origins of the dish are unknown. The earliest written mention of the terms "oyako" and "don" in combination is in a newspaper advertisement for a restaurant in Kobe in 1884. The advertisement mentions dishes named oyakojōdon, oyakonamidon and oyakochūdon, possibly referring to different sizes.^[2]

Variations

Several other Japanese dishes pun on the parent-and-child theme of oyakodon. Tanindon (他人丼), literally "stranger bowl",^[3] is otherwise identical but replaces the chicken with beef or pork. A dish of salmon and salmon roe served raw over rice is known as sake oyakodon (鮭親子丼) (salmon parent-child donburi).

See also

• Gyūdon, beef on rice
• Katsudon, pork cutlets on rice
• Unadon, grilled eel kabayaki on rice
• "Mother and Child Reunion", a Paul Simon song that takes its title from a similar chicken and egg dish

References

• Tsuji, Shizuo (1980). Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. New York: Kodansha International/USA. ISBN 0-87011-399-2.

External links

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