Day 86: Japan with Oyakodon (親子丼)

Konbanha, Raffies!

Today we are going to my adopted country. The country I came to know and love also thanks to my husband.
Now that I do not live in Japan anymore, I miss this wonderful country. Obviously, finding the right ingredients for Japanese cuisine is not always that simple.

Most of you will probably know that Japan is the overall country of fish. I must say that I myself was surprised to find out that there were a lot of meaty recipes too.

Therefore, for my world food challenge, I have decided, together with my husband, to make his favourite childhood dish: Oyakodon (親子丼). This dish literally translates "mom and child". It is a dish with eggs, chicken and rice. A typical dinner in Japanese households and a favourite among children.

For Oyakodon you'll need:

4 tbsp dashi*
4 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 chicken breast
4 eggs
2 c sticky rice

Pour dashi, mirin, soy sauce and sugar into a small pan and bring them to a boil. On medium heat, cook the chicken breast well. In the meanwhile, slightly mix the eggs in a bowl. Once the chicken is done, add the eggs to the pan. Cook for approximately 2 minutes. The eggs have to be cooked but still soft. Place the rice into 2 small bowls. Pour the chicken and egg mixture on top and garnish with sesame seeds and nori.

* For the dashi, you'll need 1 l of water. Bring the water to a point where it is almost about to boil, by building small bubbles on the bottom of the pot. Add a piece of kombu and smimer for about an hour. Add a tablespoon of katsubuoshi and simmer for another hour.

Furthermore, we are making Miso-shiru (豆腐とわかめの味噌汁), miso soup with wakame and tofu.
You'll need:

1 l dashi*
1 pack of tofu
2 tbsp miso
1 tbsp wakame

Bring the dashi to a boil and add the tofu and the wakame. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Switch the heat off and add the spoon of miso. Gently move the spoon to dissolve the miso.
Serve the soup at the end of the meal.

* For the dashi, you'll need 1 l of water. Bring the water to a point where it is almost about to boil, by building small bubbles on the bottom of the pot. Add a piece of kombu and smimer for about an hour. Add a tablespoon of katsubuoshi and simmer for another hour.

Last but not least, we have maguro-sarada (まぐろサラダ), fresh tuna salad.
You'll need:

4 stalks of nira
1 fresh tuna filet
3 tbsp miso
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp mustard

Start by mixing the miso with the sugar in a bowl. Add the mirin gradually and keep on mixing. Further add the vinegar and mustard and mix well. Dice the tuna in 1 cm squares and chop the nira. Mix all the ingredients together and serve with rice.

And I was lucky enough to find my beloved umeboshi! These are sour plums that have been pickled and that you eat together with rice. I have ben a big fan ever since I first discovered them!

Now that my stomach is full, I miss Japan and really want to go back at least for a trip..

Love,

Raffi