Oyakodon means parent and child bowl, the parent being the chicken and the child the egg, which is a slightly dark joke to find at the heart of Japan's gentlest comfort food. It is traced to Tamahide, a restaurant in Tokyo's Ningyocho district that has been serving chicken hot pot since 1760. Diners there liked to finish their meal by stirring egg into the last of the broth and pouring it over rice, and in 1891 the wife of the fifth generation owner turned the habit into a dish of its own. The restaurant is still there, and so, on a busy day, is the queue.

Every home cook in Japan knows how to make it, because it is quick, inexpensive and uses things already in the fridge. Chicken and onion are simmered for a few minutes in a broth that is savory and gently sweet, then beaten egg is poured over in two stages so that some sets softly and some stays silky and just runny. The whole pan is tipped onto rice so the broth soaks down into the grains.

It is the kind of dish that tastes like being looked after, and it takes about twenty minutes once the rice is on. For a Suzuka weekend, when the race can start in the small hours or at breakfast depending on where you live, there is no better thing to eat with a blanket over your knees.

Steamed rice

Ingredients

• 2 cups (400 g) Japanese short grain rice
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) cold water

Method

1. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, swirl it with your hand and pour off the cloudy water. Repeat three or four times, then tip it into the sieve to drain.
2. Put the drained rice in the saucepan with the 2 1/2 cups of water and leave it to soak for 30 minutes.
3. Cover the pan, bring to a boil over medium high heat, then turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 13 to 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
4. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. Then fold the rice gently with a damp spatula, lifting from the bottom.

Dashi

Ingredients

• 1 piece, about 4 inches (10 cm) square, 1/3 oz (10 g) kombu
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) cold water
• 1/3 oz (10 g), about 1 loosely packed cup katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

Method

1. Wipe the kombu lightly with a damp paper towel and put it in the small saucepan with the cold water. Leave it for 20 minutes if you have time, then set it over medium low heat.
2. Just before the water boils, lift out the kombu with tongs. Boiling kombu makes the stock slimy and bitter.
3. Bring the water to a boil, add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat and leave for 3 minutes, until the flakes sink.
4. Pour the stock through the strainer lined with paper towel, letting it drip through without squeezing the flakes, which would cloud it. You need 1 cup (240 ml) for the broth; keep any extra for miso soup.

The chicken and egg topping

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb (570 g) boneless chicken thighs
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 cup (240 ml) dashi
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) mirin
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sake
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 7 or 8 large eggs
• a small handful mitsuba or scallion greens
• to serve shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice chili)

Method

1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across, slicing at a slight angle with the knife tilted, which gives thin, wide pieces that cook quickly and evenly. Halve the onion from top to root, peel it and slice each half into thin half moons about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick.
2. In a jug, stir together the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Divide it into two equal portions, one for each batch.
3. Crack 4 eggs (or 3 if they are very large) into the mixing bowl. Using chopsticks or a fork, break the yolks and cut through the whites five or six times, stirring only lightly. You want streaks of yolk and white rather than an evenly yellow mix.
4. Pour half the broth into the skillet and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Spread half the onion in the pan and lay half the chicken over it in a single layer. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 6 minutes, turning the chicken once, so the broth reduces a little.
5. Turn the heat to medium low. Pour about two thirds of the beaten egg in a slow circle over the chicken, starting in the center and spiraling outward. Do not stir. Leave it for about 1 minute.
6. Pour the remaining egg over the top, scatter over half the mitsuba or scallions, put the lid on and turn off the heat. Leave for 30 to 60 seconds, depending on how runny you like it.
7. Fill two bowls with hot rice. Using the spatula, cut the topping in half in the pan and slide each half onto a bowl of rice, pouring over the remaining broth. Repeat the egg beating, simmering and pouring with the second half of the ingredients for the other two bowls.

More from Japan