Oyakodon, or ‘parent and child’ donburi is a homey Japanese rice bowl dish of chicken, egg, and onions are simmered together in a fragrant stock of dashi and is clung together with softly cooked egg. It’s a comforting meal packed with umami. The traditional recipe calls for dashi, soy, mirin, and sugar to flavor the dish, but today I’m going to show you the cheater’s way to satisfy your Oyakodon craving with ingredients you can find at TJ’s or already in your kitchen. This is by no means supposed to try to be a classic Oyakodon; rather an alternative for weeknight dinners just in case you don’t have the classic ingredients on hand. Enjoy :)
Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken
These suckers went fast in my house. A zesty marinade of lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper is a quick way to inject a ton of flavor into any cut of chicken. It’s baked in the oven, which helps cut down on extra oil, and comes out tender and juicy, ready to be finished off with fresh lime zest and chopped cilantro. Because this recipe is really for a simple marinade, it can be used to dress up chicken in almost any dish… chop it up for over a salad, serve it over pasta, rice, quinoa, or throw some pieces into some tacos for a fun weeknight meal.
This marinade is made of ingredients that are super affordable, and often, all you need to head to the store for is for fresh limes and cilantro. Limes are often on sale at produce markets for fairly cheap prices - this week Safeway had them on sale at 3 for $0.99! You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken - breasts, thighs, or drumsticks. I prefer thighs, even though breasts are healthier and have more protein. If you’re just starting to play with different chicken recipes, I’d suggest cooking up some chicken thighs! You can hardly mess them up :) So let’s get cookin, this one’s a fun one.