Oyako Donburi

travelog

oyako donburi

My travelog on

the famous Japanese

peasant dish

Oyako Donburi

Pronunciation

oh-yah'-koh don'-buhr-ee

Travelog

One late spring I was the guest of a rice farmer who lived in a thatched dwelling in a small village north of Kyoto, Japan. He owned several paddies, each within walking distance of one another and his home. They were square, barely the size of a badminton court, and enclosed by low-lying mud embankments that served simultaneously as dams, footpaths, and boundary markers.

Rice farming is backbreaking work. The family - husband, wife, and children - must first plant the rice grains in seedling beds. In a month or so, the emerging shoots are replanted by hand in a waiting paddy that has been plowed and flooded with water.
The rice paddies are constantly weeded, and when the grain is mature, they are drained and allowed to dry. The laboring family cuts the plants and threshes the rice by hand. Some of the crop is kept for their use; the rest is sold to pay for the various goods they need to purchase.

On the day of my visit, my host and his family used some of their rice harvest in a dish called oyako donburi. Oyako means "mother and child," and refers to the chicken and egg in the topping of' this version of donburi.

Donburi is popular with both peasants and city folk because it is quick and easy to prepare as well as filling and nutritious. It is also a great way for a creative cook to use leftovers.

oyako donburi

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