Kashino’s Narrative of Teriyaki Chicken Donburi 

It was the middle of July and the monsoon was taking forever to show up, perhaps, decking up the rains on her back. Some street food vendors in Dotonbori, Osaka were especially delighted about it as they were able to do more business than ever. 

Little Kashino loved monsoons and the smell of petrichor it brought along, but mostly, not having to go to school when it rained heavily. Alas, they were a no-show so far and that made her angry. She had to go to school every day as her impish excuses wouldn’t cut it anymore. Her mother knew very well, all of them, and the upcoming rains were going to be her only saviour. It wasn’t that she did not like to study. In fact, she was always a notch ahead compared to the other students in her batch. She just did not find it colourful enough. Her favourite place in the entire world was her mother’s kitchen. She thought of it as a magic land that produced the most delectable dishes ever, and her mother, the fairy queen who made all that with magic. But in all honesty, Karinshi, her elder sister was the one she deemed as her competition there. 

Even though the ambitious 9-year old could barely reach the spice cabinet, she was always ready for a Shokugeki (food war) with Karinshi who was already a top student in her culinary school. In reality, Kashino was fascinated by her sister’s avante-garde style of cooking and looked up to her. 

“July’s almost done! No rain still.”, a restless Kashino thought to herself, looking outside the window of her classroom. 

“Kashino-Kun!”. The teacher exclaimed. “Kurasu de chūiwoharau, Kashino” she added.

Kashino looked embarrassed. She turned to her teacher and apologised. She couldn’t wait for this last class of the day to get over. She took her bag and sprang out of the classroom as the bell rang and hurried to the playground. She thought she heard a roar or something. It had finally started to drizzle and as she approached the main gate, she felt big drops of rain on her face and arms. The air had transformed into a cool breeze whispering in her ears. Unable to contain her joy, she giggled and sang, and immediately decided to walk back home instead of riding her bike.

Her shoes were soaking wet. She took them off out front to avoid the trail of mud she would otherwise carry inside. Realising that she was the only one to have made it home amid the rains so far, Kashino called her mother on her phone to find out if they were going to be late. 

She was quick to notice her stomach growl for food. She opened the refrigerator hoping to find a bento or two, but all she found were chicken thighs wrapped in a cling wrap and a heaping bowl of leftover rice that her mother had kept for making Sashimi the next day. 

Without wasting any more time, Kashino decided to fix herself some Chicken Donburi. She paused for a moment to think and instantaneously went on to make ‘Teriyaki Chicken Donburi’ for the whole family. Since she was not familiar with the original recipe, she opted to improvise.

For years, she had observed her mother and sister cook effortlessly, and so she thought – She was going to beat them to it! She decided effortlessly too. 

Gathering the ingredients was first on the list. So she began…

After transferring the cooked rice into the Sushi Oke (Hangiri), she mixed it with her mother’s homemade Sushi Vinegar and kept it aside. 

For the Teriyaki Chicken, she first prepared the Teriyaki sauce (Dark & Light Soy Sauces + Mirin + Sake + Oyster Sauce + Sugar). Next, she chopped a medium-sized yellow onion, finely-chopped two-three sprigs of spring onions, crushed and chopped some Himalayan garlic cloves, sliced half an inch of ginger into thin matchsticks, roughly-chopped some fresh spinach and placed them into separate bowls. 

The instant prepping was done, she cut the tender chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, coated them with cornstarch (just enough to cover each piece in a very thin layer) and shallow-fried them in sesame oil. Once the chicken pieces had obtained a rich golden-brown colour on either side, she added the onions, the garlic, half the quantity of the ginger and sautéed everything until the onions and garlic had caramelized. She poured the Teriyaki sauce into the pan and stirred it for 2-3 minutes. While she waited for the sauce to reach a sticky consistency, she worked another shallow pan and heated some sesame oil in it. Once the oil was hot, she poured in 4 large beaten eggs and scrambled them for 2 minutes. When the chicken gained glaze from the teriyaki sauce, she added the scrambled eggs, threw in half of the chopped spring onions, added the spinach and sautéed everything for a minute. In the end, she garnished it with ground black pepper, spring onions and some toasted white sesame seeds. 

As soon as she heard her parents park the car in the garage, she started assembling the 4 bowls. She meant for the 4 bowls to look the same. Every bowl had a bed of the sushi vinegar-infused rice on to which she laid-on a ladle-full of the teriyaki chicken, placed two-three slices of tomato and cucumber each, a soft-boiled egg with a runny yolk cut in half. While the folks went in to freshen up, she garnished the 4 Donburi with toasted sesame seeds, chopped spring onions, ginger slices and thinly-cut nori. 

While her parents stood still in shock, Karinshi took the first bite of the sublime dish her younger sister had just served. She found herself lost in the wonderful umami, she couldn’t stop eating after that. She was starved too. After finishing, Karinshi finally kept her bowl on the table and hugged her sister in appreciation. Kashino was thrilled and overwhelmed at the same time. More so after her parents applauded her and spent the next whole week calling relatives and friends to sing praises for their little girl.

TLDR;

Ingredients 

For the Rice

For the Teriyaki Chicken with Eggs and Spinach

• Skinless Chicken Thigh (cut into bite-sized pieces) – 300 grams
• Medium-sized Yellow Onion (cut into Julienne) – 1
• Spring onions (finely chopped) – 2 Sprigs
• Himalayan Garlic cloves (crushed and chopped) – 5-6 
• Ginger (cut into thin matchsticks) – Half an inch
• Spinach greens (roughly-chopped) – 100 gms
• Eggs – 4
• Cornstarch – 2 Tsp
• Sesame Oil – 2 Tbsp

For the Teriyaki Sauce

• Dark Soy Sauce – 1 Tbsp
• Light Soy Sauce  – 1 Tbsp 
• Oyster Sauce – 1 Tsp
• Mirin (I used Sushi Vinegar) – 2 Tbsp
• Sake – 2 Tbsp
• Sugar – 1 and a half Tsp

For Garnish

• Tomatoes (thinly-chopped in semi-circles) – 2
• Spring Onions (finely-chopped) – Half a Sprig
• Sesame Seeds (toasted) – Half a Teaspoon 
• Nori or Dried Seaweed (thinly-cut) – 10×5 cm sheet
• Eggs (soft-boiled with runny yolks) – 4

Preparation Time – 35 minutes

• First off, if you don’t have Mirin, you can alternatively use the Sushi Vinegar. Take 800ml Rice Vinegar, 300g Brown Sugar and 150g Salt in a saucepan and stir it on medium heat until the sugar and salt dissolve completely. Add 7g of Kombu (dried kelp) once you turn off the heat. Mix well and store it for weeks.
• Prep the boiled rice with the sushi vinegar (make sure it’s cooled down completely) and keep it aside. Ensure that each and every rice grain is coated nicely.
• At this point, ready the Teriyaki sauce by mixing the Dark & Light Soy Sauces, the Oyster Sauce, Mirin (I used the Sushi Vinegar), Sake and Sugar together in a bowl. We will come back to it shortly.
• In a shallow pan, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil. Lightly-coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch and shallow-fry them. Fry them for 2-3 minutes on either side. Once the chicken obtains a rich golden-brown colour, add the onions, the garlic, half the quantity of the ginger and sauté everything until the onions and garlic have caramelized. Pour the Teriyaki sauce into the pan and stir it for 2-3 minutes. 
• While you wait for the sauce to reach a sticky consistency, heat a teaspoon of sesame oil in another pan. Once the oil is hot, pour in 4 large beaten eggs and scramble them for 2 minutes. Don’t forget to season them. 
• When the chicken gains glaze from the teriyaki sauce, add the scrambled eggs, throw in half of the chopped spring onions, and the spinach and sauté everything for a minute. Garnish it with ground black pepper, more spring onions and some toasted white sesame seeds. 
• In a bowl, ready a bed of the sushi vinegar-infused rice. Now lay-on a ladle-full of the teriyaki chicken on one side, place two-three slices of tomato and cucumber each on another. Cut a soft-boiled egg with a runny yolk in half and place it right on top. 
• Garnish your Teriyaki Chicken Donburi with toasted sesame seeds, chopped spring onions, ginger slices and thinly-cut nori. 

Itadakimasu!