Oyakodon is cooked in one pan where onions, chicken, and egg are simmered in an umami rich dashi-based sauce. It is then poured over a bowl of fluffy steamed rice. Simple, delicious, and utterly comforting, this is the kind of one-bowl meal you can cook in less than 30 minutes!
When it comes to mainstream fast food, Japan offers not only hamburgers and french fries, but the menu also extends to noodles and donburi (rice bowl) meals.
During lunch time, you’d see diners and cafeterias around the office buildings crowded with Japanese salarymen and office ladies making their fuss-free fast food orders. These lunch spots usually serve up quick one-bowl meals, and Oyakodon (親子丼) or Oyako Donburi (親子丼ぶり) is often one of the popular choices.
How To Make Oyakodon (Chicken & Egg Bowl)
Classic Oyakodon recipe – chicken and egg are simmered in a sweet and savory dashi sauce then served on top of the bowl of steamed rice.
What is Oyakodon?
A classic soul food of Japan, the literal translation of Oyakodon (親子丼) means “parent-and-child rice bowl.” Chicken (as in parent), egg (as in child), and onions are simmered together in a dashi and soy sauce base broth then served on top of steamed rice.
Similar to Gyudon and Katsudon, Oyakodon is not only a long-time favorite at restaurants but also a favorite to make at Japanese home. Just as the name implies, everything about the rice bowl brings comfort and warmth.
5 Reasons You Must Make Oyakodon
1. One pan/bowl meal
When thinking of easy weeknight meals, one pan and one bowl meal is an ideal solution. Less dishes = easy cleanup!
2. Quick and easy 30-minute cooking
These dishes can be whipped up with minimal time and effort. I first learned how to cook oyakodon during home and economic class in middle school. Until these days, it is still one of my go-to comfort foods. If you have teenagers at home, Oyakodon is a great dish they could easily master. The kind of survival meal that will sustain them when they go to college.
3. No oil, fresh healthy ingredients
The onions and chicken are simmered in light dashi and soy sauce based sauce. There’s no frying involved at all.
4. Common ingredients in the pantry
Chicken, egg, and onion are pretty standard ingredients in most cuisines. I usually have these ingredients handy in my refrigerator (or freezer in case of chicken).
As for the condiments, if you cook Japanese or Asian food often, you most likely have sake (or Chinese rice wine), mirin, and soy sauce.
For the dashi broth, I recommend making it in a large pot so you can keep in the refrigerator up to a week. It takes minimal time and effort to make this soup stock. With a big batch, you can take a portion out to make oyakodon, and a portion out for miso soup. Now you have a filling rice bowl and a soothing miso soup. Win! If you prefer a short cut, instant dashi is a perfectly acceptable option too.
5. Satisfying comfort meal at home
You have tender chicken and soft creamy egg over a fluffy bed of rice. The rice absorbs delicious dashi sauce and every mouthful is sweet-salty-savory. Here you have it: a belly-filling, delicious comfort meal in one bowl.
If you enjoy rice bowl donburi dishes, check out a collection of 12 Donburi Recipes!
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- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ onion
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups cooked Japanese short grain rice
- small bunch Mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (or green onion/scallion)
- Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice)
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Combine dashi, mirin, sake, soy sauce in a bowl or a liquid measuring cup.
- Add sugar and mix all together until sugar is dissolved.
- Thinly slice the onion and chop mitsuba (or green onion). Beat one egg in a small bowl (you will need to beat another egg when you work on the second batch).
- Slice the chicken thigh diagonally and cut into 1.5" (4 cm) pieces. I recommend using “sogigiri” cutting technique so the chicken will be equal thickness and create more surface area for fast cooking.
- We make one serving at a time using a small frying pan. Divide all the ingredients in half. Add half of the onion in a single layer. Pour roughly 1/3 to ½ of the seasonings mixture (depending on the size of your frying pan, the amount may vary). You will need just enough sauce to cover the onion and chicken.
Add half of the chicken on top of the onion. Make sure the onion and chicken are evenly distributed. Turn on the heat to medium heat and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, lower the heat to medium low heat. Skim off any foam or scum if you see any. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Slowly and evenly drizzle the beaten egg over the chicken and onion. Cook covered on medium low heat until the egg is done to your liking. Usually Oyakdon in Japan is served with almost set but runny egg.
- Add the mitsuba (or green onion) right before removing from the heat. Pour the chicken and egg on top of steamed rice and drizzle desired amount of remaining sauce.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on February 4, 2011. The video and new images are added in October 2017.
Hey Nami, I just made Oyakodon this week, and I went on your site looking for a recipe! I ended up using my mom’s, which is chinese-ized oyako don. I’ll try your recipe next time and compare. 🙂
Hi Sau! My Oyakodon has rather traditional and authentic taste. Some people like it to be more salty and sweeter, but mine has good Dashi taste. I cook chicken and onion in Dashi-Jiru and that makes this dish very flavorful, not over killed by say sauce and sugar. I’d love to try your Chinese-ized Oyakodon too!
I just looked at your website. It is AMAZING!! I expected to see one photo of the finished dish. I never thought you would be able to put so many details and photos of each step. I am truely impressed and inspired. I wanted to try the Oyakodon at my dads house one day soon.
Thanks Angel! I wasn’t sure if those big pictures of each step is too much (esp. if you are going to print out). But I wanted to show how easily we can prepare most of the food I cook. I get motivated by feedback people give me, so thank you for writing! Good luck with Oyakodon!
Hi, I made this dish today – just one thing didn’t work out that well: the eggs. I don’t know if there was maybe too much liquid still in my dish?, but they just seemed a bit scrambled, even though I had hardly stirred them! (Only initially, to make sure that eggs would disperse evenly). Do you have any idea what might have gone ‘wrong’? The dish was very tasty btw!! 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Valerie! Hmm hard to tell without a picture, but do you mean the egg was overcooked like scrambled eggs? Not sure how you pour the egg, but like the #6 picture, you pour (well beaten) egg slowly… so the egg will float fluffy. It’s very thin layer that it will cook quickly. If you didn’t pour egg like a string (sorry don’t know how to explain), it will create a large spot of egg mixture in one spot… Hmm I really want to help you, but I don’t know enough about the situation and it’s a bit hard to advise. Sorry Valerie I’m not helpful here. If the egg was cooked too fast, then maybe you needed to lower the heat? Japanese like to eat Oyakodon with a little runny eggs. I know we don’t eat raw eggs here for safety reason…so I sort of cooked egg. But you can stop cooking eggs early if you like it more runny (and using fresh eggs). Let me know if I can help you further. I love feedback and that’s how I can make my recipe better. Thanks again!
Hello Nami – I made this oyako don for my family last week and it was a HIT!
Everyone enjoyed it and asked for seconds!
Thanks for sharing your recipes and tips 😀
Hi Irene!
Thanks for your feedback! I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed this meal. You made my day! 🙂
This looks wonderful and so easy! I also love the meaning of the name – parent for the chicken and child for the egg. 🙂
Yum! I have been looking at your recipes almost every day this week – wondering what to make next. Everything that I have tried so far has been delicious: it looks as if it’s Oyakodon tonight!
Hi Morgan! I’m really happy to hear that you enjoy my recipes. 🙂 Thank you for writing, and enjoy Oyakodon tonight! I hope you will like it.
What a lovely website that you have. Thank you for your hard work on this website.
Twice now I have tried the Oyakodon recipe and both times came out great. For the broth I went to a Japanese market here in Los Angeles and used Hondashi for the broth. Worked out great for me. I also used a perforated flat ladle to scoop out the Oyakodon from the pan leaving behind the excess liquid. Quick to make recipe and yet so wholesome!
Thank you.
Hi Alfredo! Thank you so much for leaving your feedback here. LA has several Japanese supermarkets that you will find all the ingredients I use for my recipes. 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for writing!
SO YUMMY!! Thank you for the recipe Nami! =D
See if mine looks authentic enough? I followed your recipe EXACTLY! You are the best!! LOVE ALL YOUR RECIPES and please keep them coming!!!
http://www.priscillaliang.com/2012/08/oyakodon-asari-miso-shiru/
Checking it out now!
I used to eat this at least once a week when I was in college! So glad I came across your recipe. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
You are welcome! I hope you will like it! 🙂
I used to make oyako donburi all the time and then over the years I forgot about it! I’m going to try yours.
– Michael
Hi Michael! I hope you enjoy this recipe. 🙂
Hi Nami, I forgot to tell you that I tried your oyakodon recipe and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for sharing!
– Michael
Hi Michael! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂
hi Nami,
Thank you for posting this recipe. It was very delicious.
I love your recipes. They are very well explained, and easy to follow.
Keep it up! 😀
Hi Jane! Glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for letting me know. Thank you for following my blog! 🙂
Hey Nami, oyakudonburi is one of my favorite Japanese dishes and I am so glad I found your website. I made the dish tonite for dinner for my family and it blew me away! My hubs never had it before and he loved it :). Thank you, it tastes just like the ones from the Japanese restaurants here (live in Hawaii) and I always, ALWAYS, wanted to learn to make it!. Thanks again!
Hi Jasmine! I’m really happy to hear that you found my site looking for this recipe! It’s very easy once you know how to make it and thank you for trying this recipe. I am happy you and your husband enjoyed this dish! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Hi,
I enjoyed reading your recipes. Just wondering what’s the difference between sake and mirin? Reason is because I also came across mirin as sweet sake. Is it the same?
Look forward to your advice. Thanks.
Hi Sue! You can read more about Sake here and Mirin here. But basically mirin is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content (14% instead of 20%) and it’s sweet and syrupy. You can substitute mirin by sake and sugar (3:1 ratio). Hope this helps.
Thanks for the great recipe! I made it today. I’m an English teacher living in Aichi prefecture. Great Blog! ありがとうございます（＾＾）/
こんにちは Jelani! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and giving me feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Are you on JET program? I still remember my English teacher in Elementary school. 🙂
I lived on Oyakodon as a college student in Tokyo so I know a good Oyakodon when I taste it. Last night, I followed this recipe and was immediately transported back to Japan! This is Oyakodon as it was meant to be. Kudos to Nami! The one thing I might point out to others is that the dashi really is key to this recipe. An inferior dashi will dull down the flavors in this dish. Also, the liquid should boil down by at least a quarter of a cup. Finally, me being me, I didn’t completely follow Nami’s instructions on agitating the eggs in the skillet. My method wound up almost scrambling the eggs in the liquid. It tasted alright but it doesn’t look very attractive. Next time I will follow Nami’s instructions without deviation. Oh, one other thing, mitsuba is an authentic garnish for this dish but it may be hard to find. An alternative, which is kind of the “working man’s” version of Oyakodon, is to garnish with pickled red ginger, available in most Asian markets. In any case, looking forward to exploring the rest of this great site!
Hi Weston! Thank you for your feedback! I’m so happy to hear that my recipe worked for your taste! I also have been cooking Oyakodon for a long time too. 🙂 I change little things around and came to this recipe and I stick to it so we can always eat good Oyakodon! 🙂 I think my recipe will leave you more soup because I like to have extra sauce over the rice. Yeah mistuba can be very hard to find outside of Japanese grocery stores but it adds nice fragrance and hope they become more common herb one day. The red ginger is always good with donburi. I love them too! Thank you for making my day with your kind comment. Thanks for following my blog!
Nami,
Thanks for your nice reply. I think your experimentation with the ingredients ratio paid off. The sauce is perfectly balanced. I’m looking forward to trying your nikujaga recipe next!
Weston
Thanks Weston! Hope you will enjoy my Nikujaga recipe. I adjust the amount of sweetness depending on the day (for bento I prefer sweeter Nikujaga as it’s eaten cold/room temp, etc). Have fun cooking! 🙂
Hello Nami!
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for sharing this recipe – oyakodon has long been one of my favourite dishes at my local Japanese restaurant and I found your website while hunting for the recipe. Your instructions were easy to follow and the result was delicious (and tasted like it does in the restaurant). Now I just have to decide which of your other recipes I’ll try next!
Hi Catherine! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this oyakodon recipe! It’s pretty easy to make, right? Chicken, egg, onion, rice… Pretty much staple ingredients so you can prepare it when you are busy etc. Thank you for your kind feedback! Gyudon is similar to oyakodon if you can get thinly sliced beef. With chicken, I like chicken katsu don. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I spent some time in Japan a few years back, and I ate tons of these dishes since they were available almost everywhere and the quality seemed to be consistently good.
So, I finally decided to cook it back home in Scandinavia, and your recipe is absolutely delicious. One question, though. When I make it, it seems to come out somewhat “darker” than your pictures and the ones I had in Japan (think light brown as opposed to yellow’ish). I suspect that it may be the mirin. The one I use is dark in colour (not quite as dark as soy sauce, but still), which is the only one I was able to find around here, but I’ve seen some bottles of almost clear mirin earlier. Could this be it?
Keep it up 🙂
/Casper
Hi Casper! Thank you for trying this recipe! So glad you liked it. 🙂 Mirin is always light color, like clear color and I’ve never seen “dark” color mirin before. I wonder what type of mirin it is… I assume that’s the reason. If you can have an access to clear one, try that one instead. 🙂 Hope that helps!
I love this site! I loved this recipe… the only changes I made the second time was to not add any sugar at all as it tasted too sweet. It made an excellent start of lets try a full day of Japanese foods now that we live near an asian market and get ingredients without the expense of shipping them!
^_^
Hi Dani! Thank you so much for your kind message. 🙂 Donburi recipes are usually a little bit sweeter side, but of course you can adjust to your liking! Hope you enjoy making and eating Japanese food at home! Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami, i want ty this recipe but i dont have mirin, dashi and sake
Can i subtitute all? Like sake with angciu?
Its hard to find japanesse market in my country 🙁
Hi Yusi! You can use sugar for mirin, and can omit sake (what’s “angciu”?). However, I won’t omit dashi because it’s a big part of oyakodon flavor. But if you cannot make dashi from scratch or find dashi powder/packet, then you can use chicken stock. 🙂
Hi Nami, thank you for sharing this recipe! I just tried it and it turned out great!
Hi Angie! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m really happy to hear it turned out well. Thank you very much for your feedback! 🙂
Hi, for this recipe do we really need both sake and mirin? As I only have mirin.
And I’m really confused about the difference between mirin and sake, some website call for both but some call for either one. Can’t wait to try this recipe though, thanks for sharing!
Hi Jasmine! Sake and mirin are both very important Japanese condiments, so we do use it for specific purpose. That being said, I know it’s hard to get sake or/and mirin in some parts of the world, so I also mention that you can substitute. Please read below:
Mirin: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/mirin/
Sake: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/sake/
Unfortunately, I have seen see some recipes that translates mirin and sake as a same thing. You can use either or both, depending on the recipe, but they are not the same thing. Hope that helps, and you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami
Thanks for the clarification! Tried this recipe the other day with my friends and they say it was very nice! Thanks for sharing it again! 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m glad to hear your friends enjoyed this meal. Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂 xo
Finally tried making oyakodon tonight after having this recipe bookmarked for ages.
Loved how straightforward it was to make something so tasty! Think this might become a bit of a staple in our house so thanks!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe Kat! Really happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂 xo
I stumbled upon your site last week while searching for a Nikujaga recipe. I haven’t attempted that yet but today I made oyakodon. It was a success & my family enjoyed it. Thank you for making Japanese cooking less intimidating. I can’t wait to try making some of your other recipes!
Hi A I! I’m so happy to hear you found my site and thanks for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear you feel less intimidating with my recipes. Hope you enjoy Nikujaga and other recipes too. 🙂
My first favorite Japanese dish was oyakodon! I’ve made it several times but this is the first time I’ve seen dashi included in the sauce. It must add a great flavor and make it much lighter than using just mirin, sake, and soy sauce! Totally making this today!
Hello Nami,
Thanks for posting all these lovely dishes. I am from Ghana, and I live in Switzerland. I love Japanese food and I have been looking for easy typical Japanese dishes. You see, I just lost a Japanese best-friend, 2 months ago. She left behind 2 little kids and I cook for them everyday. As they are only use to Japanese food, I have been trying to make the few dishes my best-friend thought me, but its been a struggle. I just found your website today and I am going to a Japanese Shop today to find ingredients like (dashi, sake for cooking etc. I will be following you from now on….. Thanks again.
Hello Ruby! Thank you so much for writing! I’m so sorry to hear about your best friend and how kind of you to take care of her children. I hope my recipes will be helpful for you to make some new dishes. Thank you!
This was the first recipe I tried and I am so surprised at how delicious and easy this was. I will be trying more recipes for sure
Hi Charlene! So glad you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for your feedback. 🙂
Hi!
I’m new to japanese food and I find your website very helpfull! Thanks alot
I was curious, what’s the “flowery” thing in your miso soup? So adorable! I find your recipes so beautiful and I think thats very important for japanese serving, alot of attention to details.
Hi Sofia! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy reading my blog! Thank you for following! 🙂
The flower in the soup is called “fu” (we write like this 麩) . It’s made from gluten of wheat flour. There are many shapes and color.
I hope to introduce a soup dish that contains beautiful color/shape fu one day… 🙂
Hi Nami,
I’m sorry if this has been asked already, but if I wanted to double the recipe, are there any adjustments to cooking, etc that I should pay attention to? Does the cook time need to double, as well?
Thanks,
Kari
Hi Kari! If you double the recipe, I recommend you to use two frying pans because it’ll be too hard to fit everything in one pan. Traditionally, we cook oyakodon in a special donburi pan and it’s cooked for one serving at a time. That way, one person gets the right amount of meat, sauce, and egg etc over the rice. Hope this helps! 🙂
That makes sense! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! It turned out great!
Awesome!!! Thank you for letting me know, Rekha!
Hi Nami, I just want to say a big thank you for sharing all your recipes on this blog! Your delicious spread and step-by-step instructions made it so much easier for me to step into the kitchen and try cooking something! I usually wait for my hubby to cook for us…..I could only handle salads and instant noodles. But in the past few weeks, I have tried quite a couple of dishes from here!!! So far nothing turned out bad, in fact my hubby was pretty impressed! So THANK YOU!!!
Oyakodon was one of the first dish that I attempted from your blog! The first time, I found it still too salty for my palate but we enjoyed the flavour of it. Last week when I tried it again, I diluted the dashi with water and also reduced the soy sauce. It was just perfect for us! My hubby had such a big grin on his face. =)
Hi Natalie! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! You’re lucky your husband can cook for you guys! 🙂 Hope you enjoy cooking Japanese food. Thank you for writing your kind comment. xo 🙂
Hi Nami,
I have cooked this several times now and it has become a real staple for my family. So simple! So tasty! My daughters (5 and 2) can never get enough of it. A wonderful quick and easy weeknight meal when everyone is a bit tired, and we just feel like something warm and delicious.
Thank you so much for sharing – oyakodon has become part of our lives.
Patience
Hi Patience! I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoy this dish! It’s a great quick meal for sure. Thank you very much for writing a kind comment. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy cooking other dishes from my site. 🙂
Another great one. Pulled this together in less than 30 minutes (excluding rice cooking time). I used leftover rotisserie chicken and added edamame on top of the onions. The munchkins cleaned their plates, as did my husband. Cleanup was the pan and the cutting board. My idea of PERFECTION!
Hi Linda! Yes! Thank you for trying this recipe and I’m glad yours came out well! 🙂 Happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Comfort food at its finest.don’t have any sake on hand, might try it with just mirin. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Tina! Thank you! Mirin contains sugar while sake does not, so make sure to adjust the sugar amount if you use mirin instead. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Nami, I’ve made Oyakudon several times for my family and we always enjoy it. Today, may daughter requested it for dinner but sadly, we are out of chicken thighs. I have on hand chicken tenderloin, will that work, too?
Hope my response is quick enough… Yes it will work! Make sure not to overcook the meat. I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying this recipe!
Hi Nami,
Thank you for sharing so many wonderful recipes that are easy to follow and recreate. Most of all, it really delicious. I’ve been using your recipes (oyako don, chicken meatball and honey soy chicken) to cook for my 2 year old gal and they are always a hit! When she have the first bite, she wii close her eyes n say delicious!
Here wishing your family and you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Ling
Hi Ling! Your story about your daughter made me smile! How cute! I’m so happy to hear you and your family are enjoying my recipes and thank you for trying them and writing feedback! Merry Christmas to you and your family! xo
Just wanted to say I love this recipe so much I actually printed it and put it in my own recipe book.
Hi Nathalie! I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe and it now belongs to your recipe book! Thank you! 🙂
Hi Nami-san,
I just tried this recipe and loved it. Okay, I did change a number of things in the ingredients so my recipe is a bit different and it looks different too. Oh well, still, I loved it. Thanks for sharing this.
Hi Cath! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed making oyakodon! 🙂
Making this for dinner tonight! May need to tweak it a little bit as I don’t have any dashi and I might add some Chinese sausage I have in the fridge too.
HI Kristi! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
I made this today and I think you made a mistake on the amount of dashi (you wrote 1 cup). It was the saltiest thing ever when I made it and the sauce completely over took the eggs. If I’m wrong I’d love to know how I could better prepare this dish for next time. thank you and have a nice day.
Hi Bridgette! No, 1 cup dashi is correct. I just want to check with you. Did you make homemade dashi or dashi powder or maybe some other type?
Because dashi can’t be salty if you make dashi normally. It’s just water +kombu/bonito flakes. Nothing salty…
Here’s dashi recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-dashi/
IF your other ingredients are less than mine, you probably need to adjust the amount of seasonings as it could be salty. If you increase the amount of ingredients, then increase the seasoning..etc etc.
Hope this helps!
Konichiwa Nami!
I tried your recipe and used flapsteak instead of chicken, but after using 1 cup of dashi, my dish turned in to a soupy mess with more liquid than eggs. Any suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again? (apart from maybe using 1/2 cup of dashi)
Other than that, I your blog is SUGOI and I even bought your book at the iBooks store 🙂
Doug
Konnichiwa Douglas! From what you mentioned, I wonder if your pot/pan was smaller than mine. If the opening surface is smaller, the liquid doesn’t evaporate much. Or my heat is stronger so it evaporate faster, etc… I don’t usually have any problem with 1 cup, and if I reduce to less than 1 cup, then the oyakodon becomes more dry and there is no extra sauce to drizzle…
Arigato for your kind comments and for purchasing my ebook! 🙂
Hi Nami, I’ve made oyakodon following various recipes but since I came across your recipe 3 years ago, it’s my go-to recipe now. I’m not very inventive and follow your instructions to a T – the result is always the same, YUMMILICIOUS!!! My husband always asks if I’ve cooked extra after he licks his bowl clean. Thanks for all the step by step photos that makes cooking so easy! 🙂
Hi Juliana! Thanks so much for your kind feedback and I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been cooking my oyakodon recipe for 3 years and you liked the recipe! Glad to hear step by step pictures help! 🙂
Hi Nami
Tried to sign up for your news letter but for some reason my e mail address was unexceptable, aahh. never mind will continue checking out you recipes.
G.M.H.
Hi Graeme! I manually added your email address to my subscriber list. However, you still have to “CONFIRM” the subscription. Please check your inbox (or spam folder) and make sure to click the link provided to confirm.
Thank you!!!
Hi Namiko-san,
I just made this recipe and it came out as good as the what I get from the restaurants here in Japan! I used chicken tenderloins and it came out wonderfully. I simply let the onions simmer a few minutes before adding the tenderloin chunks, which cook very quickly.
I let my sauce boil a good 10-15 minutes before adding the onion/chicken/egg, which allowed it to reduce. The final product had just the right amount of liquid. This tip may help your readers who end up with too much liquid.
Thank you again for such an おいしい recipe and 凄い blog!
Anna
Hi Anna! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and sharing your tips! I’m glad to hear you enjoy my blog too. 🙂 どうもありがとう！
Oh, and after all that, I forgot to ask – do you know if can you freeze this dish?
Yes, you can. Use a airtight container and store in the freezer. I recommend to eat it within a week or two…. 😉
Wow–this was the bomb. My son said it was the second best dish he’s ever eaten 🙂
Hi J-man! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Thank you so much for your recipes. I was already using your Miso Ramen & miso egg recipes (which my 12 yr old loves) but we just came back from Japan, had a great time eating the food…today I made your oyakodon, which turned out & tasted fantastic. I will be trying your omurice recipe & green tea desserts next as I bought heaps of green tea powder.
Hi Renee! I’m so happy to hear your 12 year old enjoy the ramen recipe! Thanks for trying oyakodon recipe too! I hope you had a great trip to Japan! 🙂
Thank you for the great recipe! I made it last month and it was delicious. Since it’s snowing outside it’s time to make it again for dinner.
Hi Lauren! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! So happy to hear you liked it. Stay warm! 🙂
I just came across your website through searching for Japanese food. Where I currently live there are no Japanese restaurants, and I’m seriously having withdraws. I love your website, and I can’t wait to make some of your recipes!
Hi Alline! Welcome to my blog! I’m happy to hear you like my site. Home cooked Japanese food is better than restaurants, so I hope you can try some recipes and enjoy them at home! 🙂
I always love oyakodon and would like to make it myself. So I decided to give it a try on your recipe and IT was great!! love the recipe, easy to follow n great taste! Thanks for sharing the step by step picture it is so helpful 🙂
Hi Hannah! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed my Oyakodon recipe! Thank you! Glad to hear step-by-step pics were helpful too. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
So I was wondering is there a substitute I could use for Dashi in case I am unable to get my hands on any? I know it won’t be quite the same, but I was mostly curious as to whether you had any recommendations to things that could work in its place?
Hi Tyrone! It’s really hard question. 🙂 Without dashi, it lacks authenticity. I won’t consider you can actually replace dashi with other type of stock (chicken, vegetable, beef, etc) for 99% of Japanese food. When it requires dashi, you really need that umami flavor from dashi. Most of the time, dashi is the key to Japanese foods, it’s the thing that makes it unique Japanese flavors. So… I highly recommend making dashi with one of these 3 methods.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-dashi-3-ways/
Hondashi or powder dashi is easy to find, even on Amazon (http://amzn.to/1UuW32Z).
I’m so sorry my answer is not really answering to your question…
However, if you really don’t want dashi, then you can use chicken broth in this recipe because it has chicken already. But I have to say it won’t taste the same as real Oyakodon… 🙂
Hi Nami!
Oyakodon is my favorite donburi and my go-to restaurant has gone out of business so I thought why not make my own. Oh my, oh my. Your recipe is so easy to follow and the taste is even better than the restaurant’s. Even my husband (former Japanese restaurantier) really loved it! He hardly compliments. 😉 Thank you so much!
Hi Audrey! I’m so happy to hear you gave this recipe a try at home! With homemade, you can use the best ingredinets and you can even adjust the flavor as you like (little sweeter or saltier etc) and it’s really great! Now you can enjoy your favorite donburi more frequently. 😀 Thank you for your kind feedback!
I have made this twice now and I am obsessed! I want to make this for my family but some will one eat white meat. Do you know if I should cook the chicken for a shorter amount of time or will 10 minutes still work?
Hi Julie! I’m happy to hear you liked it! As long as it’s cooked though, it’s okay. Pick one chicken and cut in half to see if it’s no longer pink. 🙂
I love making this.
Hi Linda! I’m so happy to hear that you like this recipe! 🙂
My “picky eaters” who will eat anything from tapanade to stir fried mushrooms will not eat onions unless they are in spaghetti sauce. So I used bean sprouts instead! And I am allergic to seafood so I used beef broth instead of the dashi I might try it using the vegan seaweed dashi, but maybe not because it was a huge hit at my house with everyone saying they wanted me to make it again soon. Even my 3 year old who is a total food snob and never wants the same thing twice wanted me to make it the next night
Hi Hannah! Great substitute! I’m happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I love that your 3 year old is a food snob!!! he heee! I feel honored and flattered. Thank you for your sweet and kind feedback! xoxo
Hi Nami,
Tried your oyakodon recipe tonight. I must say it turned out delicious and perfect. My family loved it so much. I substitute the chicken with shabu shabu pork and used 2 tablespoon mirin instead of 3 tablespoon.
Thank-u
Hi Ricky! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear you liked it! Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
Sake has been used as a common ingredient for the majority of your recipes. However, I do not have sake under my possession. Is there something else I can use as a proper substitute?
Hi Yuki! Not only my recipes but most of Japanese recipes include sake and mirin in the ingredients. Along with soy sauce, they are the essential condiments in Japanese cooking. I recommend getting them if you cook Japanese food often.
I put sub info here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/
And also you can find more info in FAQ page. 🙂
I made it. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!
Hi Noemi! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! So happy to hear you liked it! 🙂
THANKS Nami again for a WONDERFUL RECIPE! Just made this easy dish TWICE this week! Always wiped clean and gone. The chicken was so tender! I subbed the mirin with apple cider vinegar and it worked perfectly and omitted sake for a non-alcoholic version! SUPER DELICIOUS! Here is our link to our gluten free, paleo version:
https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/japanese-comfort-food-1-pan-oyakodon-gf-paleo-oil-free-dairy-free-nut-free/
Thank you Zoe and Mia! I have a lot of GF and Paleom readers and I’m sure they are thankful for your post. Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know! xoxo
I made this tonight and it was totally delicious. My daughter LOVED it. Her friend loves Oyakodon; it’s her favorite food (and she loves all kinds of food). My daughter packed up some of the Oyakodon I made to take it to her friend.
Hi Deborah! I’m so happy to hear you and your daughter liked this recipe! Your daughter is very sweet to think of her friend! 🙂
Hello! Thanks for this recipe. Do you know about how many grams/ounces “2 chicken thighs” would be? I have giant chicken breasts I got for a good price and don’t want to overwhelm the dish.
Also, most times I’ve made or eaten oyakodon, the chicken as a whole tends to be pretty bland. I’m considering a light seasoning of salt or pepper, but have you experimented with the chicken at all before?
Thank you!
Hi Stephanie! I’m sorry my older recipes don’t include the weight. I’m going to re-do this recipe and will include the correct weight then.
I googled and it looks like one chicken thigh weigh about 2 ounces or 56 grams, not counting the skin or bone. I think some can be a little heavier than that too.
Chicken breasts tend to taste more bland than thigh and gets harder and drier, so we usually use thighs for this recipe.
Normally we do not put salt or pepper for Oyakodon but you could add. Oyakodon’s key is good dashi and the sauce. 🙂
Thanks Namiko, very easy and tasty.
Hi Christina! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
I lived in Japan for 7 1/2yr.s & loved every minute. I immersed myself amongst the people, learning the language; (well as best as a Geigen can); studied the music & art; kimono & doll making; & took 2 different styles flower arranging each week. I got MOST of lessons FREE in exchange for English lessons. I NEVER learned to cook anything EXCEPT Japanses dishes, but 1 dish I have forgotten. FEW Americans like it–it’s called “Okazu”, I Think. It is vegetarian with I think pumkin. I ate it frequently at my Okinawain friends’ homes, so perhaps it’s Okinawain. It is extremely healthy for people with stomach issues. Keep up the good work. Tho’ cooking Asian is VERY physically debilitating for me, my husband & I both love so many of the dishes.
HI Jacquie! Wow… I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed your time in Japan! “Okazu (おかず)” in Japanese means main dishes (or more like main/side dishes that go with steamed rice), and it doesn’t imply a certain dish.
That being said, I kind of remembered someone else once told me it’s a dish name in Okinawa so I googled it. According to Japanese wiki, it says that in Okinawa if it is written “okazu”, it’s usually meant the stir fried vegetables with Tamagoyaki on the side.
Here are the images: https://www.google.com/search?q=%E6%B2%96%E7%B8%84+%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8B%E3%81%9A&biw=1319&bih=920&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9uZvm-YbRAhVP02MKHT_UBToQ_AUIBigB
I’ve never been to Okinawa and I don’t know how the stir fried veggies are seasoned, but it looks simple and homey and delicious! Sorry I don’t know this recipe, but I hope I can visit Okinawa someday and try this so I can recreate the recipe!
Looks delicious!!! If you wanted to make oyako for one person, would you just halve all of the ingredients across the board? Thank you <3
You can divide the recipe to one serving and use a smaller frying pan to make it. 🙂 I also want to suggest that you can make 2 serving, and save one serving in freezer for future meal. 🙂
Thank you for another great recipe Nami! My family loves everything I make from your website. 🙂
Hi Randi! So happy to hear that your family enjoyed this dish and others! Thank you for trying out my recipes! xo 🙂
I’m really glad I found your website… Your recipes are absolutely the best.. Anytime I want any type of Japanese food I always come to you for the recipe.. So yummy! Thanks
Hi Alan! Aww thank you! I’m happy you found my site too, and thanks for trying my recipes. Glad to hear you enjoy them. xoxo
My 11 yo daughter is very interested in Japan and asked if we could start making some Japanese recipes. I was very happy to find your website.
We just tried this recipe tonight. Of my 8 children, 6 adored it, 1 thought it was okay, and 1 mildly disliked it (but he doesn’t like soy sauce flavor). With that many children, those are really good numbers. I expect we’ll come back to this recipe again and again in the future.
I’ve appreciated all the ingredient information and tips that you have. I haven’t been able to find anything on how to eat with chopsticks. We ate this meal with a spoon, but would like to try chopsticks (hopefully successfully!) in the future.
Hi Heather! I’m so happy to hear your 11 yo daughter is interested in Japan! I’m flattered that 6 of your children enjoyed this recipe. 🙂 You must use a big pan or two pans to make for family. What an inspiring story that you cook for 8 children! We all can learn efficiency from you. Thank you so much for your kind feedback.
Maybe this video might help? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tAAmixBb_g
A really big electric skillet 😉 Thanks for the video link!
hey Nami, I know it’s an old article but I just want to say thank you. I made this dish tonight and my daughter loved it! keep up the good work <3
Hi E.G! You’re very welcome! I’m so happy your daughter enjoyed this dish. Thank you for your kind words and feedback! xo
One of my favorite Japanese dishes, thank you Nami. Would love to see a video of this recipe.
Hi Diana! It’s been on my to do (to make) list for some time. I’ll work on it soon! So many dishes that I have to work on…. sorry for taking a long time. I’m happy to hear you like this dish! 🙂
Aloha Nami,
We enjoyed this for dinner tonight! We had a favorite oyakodon recipe a friend gave me years ago, but it was always hit or miss with the chicken being tender or dry, and the egg always looked ugly. I followed your recipe exactly and it was perfect. Thank you teaching me a great way to cut chicken and giving us a new oyakodon favorite! ????????????
Nami,
What are other chicken dishes that I can make that use the Sogigiri cutting technique? I really like cutting the chicken like that!
Aloha Amy! I apologize for my late response here. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed Oyakodon recipe and it worked perfectly. 🙂
It’s funny, but in Japan, we cut chicken mostly in Sogigiri because we pan fry food a lot and not in the oven. It’s important that chicken is evenly cooked. So anything pan fry, you can do that. Here I see people cut chicken like block or long strings. We can’t really eat a big piece with chopsticks… so sogigiri for pretty much everything. 😉
Hi Nami,
I’ve been looking for a great authentic oyako donburi recipe for ages but never found one that I liked in any of my local cookbooks (the one I had was bland). I’m glad I googled the internet and found your recipe. Made this dish tonight. I was excellent. I doubled the recipe and I’m glad I did. The only thing I would change is that because I used a large frying pan, I could have use more eggs. Other than that I would give it five stars!
Hi Char! I’m so happy to hear that you found my site and enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 Welcome to my blog! xo
Hi,
May I know if there’s any substitute for sake, please?
Hi Gina! Chinese rice wine or dry sherry is the best substitute. 🙂 More info here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/
making this for dinner tonight!
Hi Jodel! Hope you enjoy(ed) the recipe! 🙂
This was really good! My soy sauce is very dark though so it ended up looking quite brown but delicious nonetheless.
Hi Donna! Thank you for trying this recipe! FYI, Japanese soy sauce doesn’t have dark or light soy sauce.
This is one of my go-to weeknight meals – quick and easy to pull together, and ingredients are usually in my fridge/freezer. The kids love it and leftovers also work great for the following day’s lunches.
I find this recipe yields enough soupiness for a 1lb+ pack of chicken thighs I get from Trader Joe’s.
Thanks Nami, for a keeper recipe!
Hi Ponyo! Thank you for your kind feedback. I too use this recipe for my “busy” weeknight too! I’m so happy you enjoy this recipe!
I made this instead of Chicken Katsudon tonight because I didn’t want to spend the time frying the chicken, but I have to admit I like the Chicken Katsudon better, because it is more saucy and less soupy, and the the flavors of Oyakodon were more homogenized. Still, it was a quicker meal, and worth a shot. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Lion! I’m a fan of Katsudon more than Oyakodon too. Deep frying panko crusted chicken in the simmering dashi is much better than just simple chicken… 😀 The savory deep frying taste makes the broth even more delicious! Thanks for trying this recipe!
I tried this recipe for the first time tonight, and was so happy with the outcome – this was absolutely delicious and brought back memories of my trip to Japan a few years ago. Thank you so much!
(from Melbourne, Australia)
Hi Rachael! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for reading my blog from Melbourne! xoxo
How would you best cook and serve this dish if you were cooking for a group of 6 people compromising the presentation?
Hi Mary! I’d make in a big pan. Typical Japanese dish is not oven friendly, as we use stovetop to cook our meals. You can use 2 large frying pans and cook 3 portions in each frying pan. Portion out to serve. 🙂
Quick, easy, flavorful — my kind of dish! This looks wonderful — thanks so much. 🙂
On of the first Japanese dishes I tried which started my love for donburis! Love the texture of this dish specially when the egg on top is runny. Nom nom nom
Hi!!!! Ur recipes look amazing! Question about soysauce.. there r so many types of soysauce. Which one do u use?? Im totally new to japanese cooking!!!
Hi Jenny! Thank you for your kind words. I use Kikkoman organic soy sauce shown in the picture (in Japanese bottle).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/soy-sauce/
Please read this post for different types of soy sauce we use in Japanese cooking. 😉
Hi Nami! I was just wondering would sautéing the onions first make it taste better?
Hi Ashley! Do you mean without the liquid and add oil? You can do that. Traditionally, oyakodon ingredients are cooked in simmering dashi broth without oil, but you can do that. 🙂
Yeah so what I was thinking was I could sautee the onions with oil first then add the broth and everything else, would that be good?
Hi Ashley, I had never tried, but sure it should work. 🙂
Got it! Thank you for the quick reply!
This looks awesome Nami! Can’t wait to try it.
We love your recipes and this one is good too but my family definitely likes the original one better would you be able to post the old recipe or email it to me please thank you!
Hi Yoko! It’s pretty much same, I reduce the amount of dashi as it’s too much liquid in my original one. And because I reduce the amount of dashi, I also reduce the rest of seasonings.
3 Tbsp. mirin
1 Tbsp. sake
1 cup dashi
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
The rest of ingredients in the recipe are the same.
Hello Nami-san,
I hope you and your family are doing well!
In note 7 you said to turn on the heat to medium heat and bring to a boil. Then in note 8 you wrote once boiling lower to medium heat. I’m thinking that you meant medium high heat in note 7 instead of just medium heat.
By the way, my uncle wasn’t able to get the matsutake this fall so I have none for you to check out and possibly buy.
Matane,
South Bay Jamie-san
Hi Jamie-san! Thanks for letting me know. The cooking heat should be medium heat and then reduced to medium low heat.
Thank you for trying to get matsutake. Please don’t worry! It’s a treat and we only enjoy eating it once in a while. 🙂 Thank you for thinking of me. xo
I made this today! The preparation was pretty easy but I found it challenging when combing the onions and the chicken. How can you tell when the chicken is done? I am used to cooking with chicken breast and not chicken thigh and I am worried to undercook the chicken thighs. I also don’t like undercooked egg but I love oyakodon so I just try to cook the egg a bit longer. I went to school at Rikkyo and they sold oyakodon at lunch. I was nervous to try this recipe but at the first bite it reminded me of being at school in Tokyo and eating oyakodon <3 thank you!
Hi Katherine! I’m happy to hear you made oyakodon at home! 🙂 You will cook covered for 5 minutes, so it has enough time to cook (and you will continue to cook a little longer later). The key is to cut the chicken using “sogigiri” cutting technique so the chicken will be equal thickness and create more surface area for fast cooking. So it is thin yet surface area is big piece. This will ensure the chicken will be cooked through. 🙂
Approximately how much does “2 boneless skinless chicken thighs” weight? (I’m grocery shopping online and I can’t see how many thighs are in a package.)
Each thigh is roughly 2 ½ to 3 ounces. Here in the US, one package (if you buy packaged one) includes roughly 6 pieces, that’s roughly 1 lb.
I made this tonight and it turned out fantastic! I love the step-by-step photos and video for this recipe. Thank you for making Japanese cuisine accessible to people like me.
Hi Jtran! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. xo
Delicious! Even my kids loved this! Hard to make for five people at a time, however.
Hi Matthew! I agree…. maybe need two pans to cook it so everyone gets enough sauce…
This looks delicious! Do you have any suggestions for other vegetables I could add to this that would complement the taste, so I can increase my kids’ veggie intake?
Hi Michelle! Hmm, good question. I guess you can add baby spinach toward the end, etc… but I’m someone who keeps classic taste as it is, so I am afraid of ruining the perfect combination of flavors this dish offers… Usually Japanese serve side dishes of some green vegetables or salad with this dish. Sorry I think I’m not much of a help here… what do your kids like? I can maybe think of something…
I’m also wondering about vegetables. I’m thinking of serving with Japanese pickles — would that be normal?
Hi hmucha! Yes, we serve with pickles. 🙂
Hi Nami! I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! The flavour immediately brought a smile to my face. 🙂
I had wanted to make the dashi by scratch but my local Japanese grocery store was out of bonito flakes so I had to make do with instant dashi (thank you so much for the helpful photos on your dashi page — I was immediately able to recognise the brand!). I just have one question: I’ve noticed that some Asian groceries stock a dashi soy bean/miso paste. Does that paste work as a substitute for homemade/instant dashi in a pinch?
I’m really enjoying your blog! I love learning new things so the little glimpses into the backgrounds of all these dishes are really great!
Hi Hayley! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish! And I’m glad my instant dashi package photo was helpful too! 😀
Yes, it does and I shared a post here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/vegetable-miso-soup/
I’m happy to hear you enjoy my blog. Thanks for your kind words! Please feel free to email me or leave a comment. I’ll be happy to help!
Can I omit the sake or is there a substitute so I can make this for my toddler (18 months old)?
Hi Kozey! Alcohol evaporates while cooking, but if you’re worried, you can replace with sake. Hope you enjoy!
Made this a couple times, turned out great each time. I cooked down the broth a bit before adding the egg, and then added an extra [raw] egg yolk to my rice for extra moisture and richness; yum. Thanks for the easy recipe!
Hi Kelly! Ah that sounds so delicious. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. Happy to hear you enjoy it! Thank you!
Hi Nami. Nice oyakodon vid and recipe which I’ll be trying later this week. I still don’t understand why you insist on cooking one person’s batch in one small fry pan at a time. Why not just cook multiple batches at once in one big fry pan and serve all at once to save time? Thanks!
Hi Marco! You can definitely make a big batch, but I was trying to show the classic way to make Oyakodon. In Japan, we have a special pan called oyakodon pan (shown in this post; scroll down to see the pan.). We make it one by one at the restaurants and home (my mom had a couple). You would slide the ingredients and sauce over your donburi bowl to transfer. For home use, you can definitely make it in a big frying pan. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe many times and it always turns out great! It is such a warm and comforting dish – perfect for cold winter nights when you want something nourishing and satisfying. Reminds me of eating dinner at my grandma’s house. Thanks again for such a simple and easy to follow recipe, Nami! The video was great too.
Hi Emi! I’m so happy to hear that you tried this recipe many times. Thank you! Your grandma sounds like she is a good cook! I’m happy to hear you enjoy the video!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times now and it always turns out delicious! Love the pictures, sometimes just reading the description doesn’t give you/show you the full details of what it’s supposed to look like when cooking, so I really appreciated that.
Hi Shu! Thank you so much for trying this recipe many times! I’m happy to hear you like my step by step pictures. I’ve thought of giving up step by step pictures many times (it’s just more work haha) but JOC readers always encourage me to continue with feedback like yours. Thank you for writing! 🙂
Hey, I live on a campus that doesn’t allow alcohol on the premises. Is there something I could substitute for the sake, or should I just leave it out?
Thanks!
Hi Cassie! You can replace it with water. If you go to a Japanese or Asian grocery store, they usually have “cooking (rice) wine”, which is sold as a condiment not as an alcohol because of low or no alcohol content. You can use that too. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi Nami,
Thank you for this delicious recipe! For cooking purposes, how long will Sake last in the fridge? I use the Gekkeikan sake! 🙂
Hi Thomas! I keep my sake in the cool dark place, not in the fridge, for two to three months. Although mine doesn’t last too long, I believe you can use for up to 6 months. 🙂
Im not sure how true this is, but I’ve heard that Paul Simon’s song “Mother and Child Reunion” is based on this dish (though it could have been a similar Chinese dish). It was translated on the menu into English as “Mother and Child Reunion”. Obviously the song isn’t about the dish, but its where he took inspiration from the name. Just thought that bit of trivia was interesting!
Hi Ed! How interesting! I did not know that! Thanks for sharing it with us!!!!