My recipe for oyako donburi is Japanese inspired comfort food: chicken that is tender to perfection, flavorful, with lots of yummy sauce over fresh hot steamy rice. You can prep this dish ahead of time and it is easy to make for busy weeknight dinners.
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What is Oyako Donburi?
The Japanese dish, Oyako Donburi, literally means “parent-child rice bowl” because it’s made with chicken (parent) and egg (child). It’s a one bowl meal: fresh steamed rice topped with tender pieces of chicken and onions cooked with egg in a soy-based sauce.
Restaurants usually cook smaller amounts in a 6-inch frying pan and then slide the whole thing over a large bowl of rice. One order is typically too much for me but too small to share. This recipe is served family style, cook the chicken and egg in a large pan and then spoon individual portions over smaller bowls of rice.
My son is allergic to eggs but since he had OIT for egg after his peanut patch trial, we need to find creative ways to incorporate egg into our diet. This entree as an egg OIT dose is much tastier and less egg-intense than eating scrambled eggs, but requires more planning and work on my part.
Is a very simple recipe. Cook the chicken with some sauce and broth until it’s 75% cooked, add some egg and cover it to steam the eggs, and voila! Serve it over rice.
Allergy Aware Oyako Donburi
This recipe is free of peanuts, tree nuts, milk, fish, sesame, and shellfish as written.
By definition oyako donburi will contain egg. It might be possible to make this dish using a vegan egg product, but I haven’t tested them enough. You might experiment by adding some vegan egg into the braising sauce and/or cooking it according to package instructions in a separate pan.
If you are allergic to egg but would like a Japanese style chicken recipe, I highly recommend my recipe for Broiled Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Recipe because you can marinate the night before and it takes only 8-10 minutes to broil. I also have an Instant Pot version of the same recipe, it’s even easier if you like using an Instant Pot: Instant Pot Chicken Thighs with Teriyaki Sauce Recipe & Review.
This dish is typically nut-free but does use soy sauce. If avoiding soy or wheat, you can substitute the soy sauce with soy-free soy sauce or coconut aminos. Coconut aminos are a little bit sweet, I recommend reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe.
People usually make oyako donburi with dashi, a fish based broth. If someone is allergic to fish or if you can’t find the ingredients to make it, vegetable or chicken broth are great substitutes.
If you need recommendations on which brands of mirin or soy sauce I use, check to see what is in my cupboard.
Oyako Donburi (Chicken & Egg with Rice)
Ingredients
- 1 pack boneless, skinless chicken thighs 5 pieces
- 1 sweet onion peeled, sliced and separated
- 4 scallions trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup chicken broth or dashi, if available and not allergic to fish
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups of freshly prepared steamed rice
Instructions
- Trim the fat off of the boneless skinless chicken thighs (if there are any tiny bits of bone, give it a rinse and drain as necessary), cut each thigh into 6-8 pieces, and place into a large bowl
- Add onions, scallions, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and mix; if prepping ahead, cover and refrigerate to marinate 30 minutes or overnight.
- Use a large frying pan or a braiser with a lid and heat it up for 1 minute at medium heat.
- Crack eggs into a medium mixing bowl and scramble, set aside.
- Add chicken into the pan, add dashi or chicken broth, cover with a lid, and cook at medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Stir the chicken and add prepared eggs, cover with a lid and simmer on low heat for 5 more minutes. Serve with rice.
Nutrition
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I’m a bit confused. The ingredient list says 1 cup chicken broth, but the directions only call for 1/2 cup of chicken broth. What am I missing? What do I do with the rest of the chicken broth?
Thank you for catching that, my bad! Use 1 cup. I’ll update the post. <3
Hi Sharon, Oyako Donburi is a family favorite. I make my own dashi with kombu and fish flakes. If I’m lazy I just use chicken broth. I add napa cabbage and/or spinach and lightly cook with the sauce and meat before adding the egg. Sometimes I only do veggies and the egg. I could eat this almost every day! Thank you for sharing!
I love your veggie ideas! Napa cabbage is perfect for oyako donburi because it’s naturally sweet. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
I love the meaning behind the name! 😀 This sounds good but hubby and I would have to hog it to ourselves, as our kiddo can still only handle baked egg. One question though, what’s mirin?
Mirin is a type of Japanese rice wine with a bit of sweetness. Fingers crossed that your kiddo can enjoy oyako donburi some day soon, yay for baked eggs!
This sounds like something I would like. Have you been able to find coconut aminos that don’t have a may contain hazelnuts? The two I have found are both that way.
Kortney, have you tried big tree? I think they might be cc-free but I can’t be sure w/o looking up emails. Also look for Ocean’s Halo, they have a new soy free soy sauce that is delicious. I can’t use it in my house b/c one of my sons is allergic to mushrooms.