Vietnamese Oyakodon

Oyakodon is part of the donburi family, which are popular Japanese dishes consisting of a filling on a bowl of rice. Oyako, in a somehow disturbing way, means "parent and child" -referring to chicken and eggs. I was feeling like spicing the dish up and changing its flavour profile, and I thought of the biting Nuoc Cham sauce to give a tangy depth to this otherwise quite soft and mild dish. This Vietnamese-Japanese fusion attempt might be, if I can humbly say so, my best creation to date. The pairing between roast chicken and Nuoc Cham is an obvious one, but the creamy eggs, perfumed with a touch of ginger and shallots, add a fluffy mellowness to this dish that makes you always crave for more. I don't have much credit to take though, since the whole dish almost only relies on the wonderful Vietnamese Nuoc Cham. Making the sauce is almost the only effort you need to make ; the rest is basically an omelet flavoured with a few aromatics, that you assemble with roast chicken on top of rice.

Vietnamese Oyakodon - Ingredients & advice

• You will find my Nuoc Cham recipe here.
• For my scrambled eggs, this is how I get them fluffy and moist :
  • First, add your unbeaten eggs to a buttered and oiled pan on medium heat ; leave 30 seconds while mixing with a spatula. The eggs will start to form strands.
  • Then, turn the heat to low and let it finish cooking while you keep stirring with a spatula.
  • Do not overcook them ! I remove them while they're still a tad undercooked, because by the time you add the egg mixture to your plate, you eggs might become overcooked.
• Want to make the dish vegetarian ?
  • You can simply omit the chicken ; honestly, I'd enjoy the dish with only rice, eggs and the wonderful sauce ;
  • You can also replace the chicken with stir-fried mushrooms (with a bit of smoked salt or liquid smoke if you have some). No other seasonings needed, really, it's already in our sauce !