Oyakodon is a popular comfort food in Japan. It is a rice bowl dish that uses both the chicken and the egg as toppings. In fact, the word "Oyakodon" means "parent and child".
This broth is flavored with a balanced mixture of soy sauce and sugar, so it tastes sweet and salty. It was one of my favorite meals to eat in Japan as it is fast, healthy and delicious.
Nowadays, I eat it frequently after work and recommend it to others as a simple, foolproof meal.
Key taste variable: Soy Sauce Broth
The key taste variable is the soy sauce broth. In Japan, they use a dashi broth to flavor the soy sauce. But you can also use a combination of pantry items to infuse the soy sauce. Make sure to use exactly ⅔ tablespoon (2 teaspoons) of sugar to get the right level of sweetness.

Oyakodon - Failproof Japanese Chicken Bowl
Ingredients
- Chicken breast - 1
- Onion - ¼ a whole
- Spring onion - 1 stalk
- Egg - 1
- Rice - 1 cup
Soy Sauce Broth
- Soy sauce - 2 Tablespoons
- Mirin or any cooking wine - 2 Tablespoons
- Water - ¼ cup
- Sugar - ⅔ Tablespoon or 2 teaspoons
Seasoning Chicken
- Salt - few shakes
- Black pepper - few shakes
- Mirin or any cooking wine - few drops
Instructions
Prep ingredients
- Cube chicken into small bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in a few drops of the cooking wine and mix it. Set chicken aside.
- Then cut onion into strips. Also cut the green portion of the spring onions into 1 inch pieces and cut the white part into small slices.
- Make sauce and prep eggs
- Add soy sauce, mirin, water and sugar into a small bowl.
- Crack the egg into a bowl and give a few stirs (Note: Don't overmix the eggs and completely whisk the white and yolk into one)
Cook chicken
- Put frying pan on medium-high heat. Pour oil in. When it is hot, put the chicken in.
- Once the chicken pieces are half-way cooked through, add the sliced onions and the green portions of the spring onion.
- Then pour in the soy sauce broth. Let it cook for a few minutes, until sauce has reduced and become sticky. Then turn off the heat.
- Gather the ingredients to the center of the pan and add the egg mixture over the top.
- Put a lid on and cook for 30 seconds. Then pour it over a bed of sticky rice.
Notes
- Turn off the heat before pouring the egg mixture so it cook on residual heat. The bowl tastes best when the eggs are still slightly runny.
- See video below for more details
Adelina says
Tasty. Easy. Love it.
Katrina D. says
I love oyakodonburi from my years living in Japan, it is nice to come across a recipe that does not require the labor intensive process of making the dashi. I came for your Soondubu recipe, and left with two recipes...thanks 🙂
Jacob Davis says
This is possibly my new favorite food! So grateful for your recipes and videos on youtube.
Dan-yul says
Hey Jacob! Oh, this is a good one - happy that you're digging it 🙂