Mother & Son, Chicken & Egg
Japanese Food: pure, simple, maximum taste with minimal product. The Japanese kitchen finds it’s ground in perfecting techniques and applying them on the freshest ingredients. The ingredients that are used are not necessarily explosive on their own but the kitchen focusses on harmony. Particularly the word “Ma” but that’s for another edit.
If you would take an onigiri apart, on the surface level you would see rice and fish. But deeper down, the rice is carefully selected. Every Japanese prefecture produces a different grain of rice with unique characteristics. Then the rice is cooked, so it sticks but isn’t overcooked. The rice is treated with sugar and mirin, to accent and enhance the fish. Wasabi and soy sauce are added under the fish.
All these small steps add to the bigger picture.
This is the foundation of the Japanese cuisine
Today I want to introduce you to one of my favourite dishes, Oyakodon or a bowl with parent and child an appropriate but barbaric naming.
Donburi
Japan is home to many donburi dishes:
Gyudon (beef bowl)
Unadon (grilled eel bowl) by 1 Michelin Star: Hashimoto
Tekkadon (Tempura Bowl)
And so oyakodon. A bowl of chicken in a teriyaki plus dashi sauce wrapped and finished in an omelette.
A teri-what a dashi-who?
Teriyaki is the one of the basics of the Japanese cuisine, used for grilling, marinating and broiling of food. It consists of mirin (vinegar), sake (rice wine), soy sauce and sugar as a glazing.
Dashi is a broth made from kombu (seaweed) and katsuobushi (dried tuna flakes).
According to Foodicles, a great Oyakodon means
1. The right amount of seasoning.
2. Most shops used boiled chicken, but the best bowls of oyakodon take the extra effort to first charcoal grill the chicken.
3. The scrambled egg is not overcooked; rather is it practically half-cooked and runny to moisten the sauce and rice bowl.
4. The rice is enough but not too much to balance the chicken and egg.
The start
The story starts at Tamahide in Tokyo.
A small castle like building which can be traced back to the Feudal Japan. Tamahide has been serving diners for over 250 years since it founding in 1760. Tamahide started out as a place for the preparation of chicken and became specialized in shamo-nabe, a version of stew-like sukiyaki made with gamecock instead of beef, along with noodles, leeks and mushrooms, all seasoned with soy sauce and hon mirin, a syrup made from sweet rice rich with umami.
Oyakodon was invented here by the recommendation of a customer in 1887 to do something with the leftover pieces of chicken and broth after the nabe meal. In 1891, it was the wife of 5th generation chef, Toku Yamada, who came up with the idea of making it into a separate dish.
Even though it was only available as a take-out item, it soon took off and spread throughout the whole of Japan. You will see her photograph on the right side when you enter the restaurant. Currently, it is the 8th generation of the Yamada family that is running the restaurant.
250 years later and Toku Yamada’s creation is globally known. Outside you will find long queues for hungry businessmen, tourists and mothers with their child
See here how it’s made and dive into the kitchen yourself. I love to use chicken liver instead of chicken thighs. Since it’s cheap, has an unique flavour plus it is extremely rich in iron.