Oyako means “parent and child” and it refers to the ingredients here — the chicken and egg. The egg and sauce seep into the rice and make it jammy and delicious. This is a family-friendly dish and easy to make at home. Enjoy it with Easy Cucumber Pickles (page 35) on the side.

1. In a large skillet, combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin and bring to a boil over medium heat.
   Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink, about one minute. Add the onion wedges and cook until they are soft and the liquid has cooked down, eight to 10 minutes.
   Lower the heat to medium-low and pour in the beaten eggs in a slow, steady stream, starting at the center of the pan and circling outward. Let it cook until the egg is about half done, one to two minutes, then cover and cook for about one minute more.
   Serve in large bowls over rice, topped with the scallions.

Cooking tip: Traditionally, the egg is cooked so that some of it remains raw. Pasteurized eggs are safe to eat raw, and the risk of an egg being contaminated with salmonella is very low. That said, if fully cooked eggs are your preference, give it a little extra simmer time.

Gluten-free, Nut-free,
30 minutes or less
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes | Serves 4

1 cup Basic Dashi (page 18)
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup mirin
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 recipe Basic Short Grain Rice (page 16), for serving
2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced on a sharp diagonal, for garnish

Excerpt from “Japanese Cookbook for Beginners,” by Azusa Oda, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2020 by Callisto Media, Inc. All rights reserved.