{"id":27677,"title":"Soboro Don – Minced Meat Rice Bowl","modified":"2025-02-06T10:57:15+01:00","plain":"A delicious donburi with minced chicken and scrambled eggs, convenient and nourishing for quick lunch breaks!\n\n\n\nIf you wanted something comforting and easy to prepare, you've come to the right place. Soboro Don is THE perfect donburi for bentos. Fluffy rice, tender chicken with sweet and savory flavors... You won't even feel like you're eating on the go.   \n\n\n\nWhat is Soboro Don? \n\n\n\nHow can we talk about Soboro Don without mentioning Donburi? I think you haven't missed that little \"don\" particle that accompanies these few recipes, such as Tokashi Butadon, Gyudon, Oyakodon, Kastudon...!  \n\n\n\nThe delicious Katsudon\n\n\n\nIt's the same principle here with Soboro Don (\u305d\u307c\u308d\u4e3c\u3076\u308a). \"Soboro\" is a Japanese term for any minced protein.  \n\n\n\nIn this case, it's minced chicken, seasoned and crumbled into small pieces. Scrambled eggs are also added, all served in a bowl over steamed rice. That's the whole concept of Donburi!   \n\n\n\nIn Japan, Soboro Don is a dish often associated with bento meals. It's also called \"Soboro Bento\" in some restaurants due to its great popularity in the famous Japanese lunch boxes.  \n\n\n\nOyakodon is the most well-known egg donburi\n\n\n\nAs a result, it can be served hot or cold, which is why it's so popular for quick lunches. Versatile indeed, the Soboro Don! \n\n\n\nWhere does Soboro Don come from? \n\n\n\nSoboro Don is said to have originated in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). The exact origins are not known, but many believe this dish was served in Buddhist temples.  \n\n\n\nSoboro Don was then a practical and nutritious meal for the monks who resided there. However, it was right after 1868, during the country's industrialization in the Meiji era (1868-1912), that this dish became popular and made a real name for itself in Japanese cuisine.  \n\n\n\nAn inexpensive, nutritious, and appealing meal, it was the winning combo!\n\n\n\nThe main ingredients of Soboro Don\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChicken: this is what I'll use in this recipe, but some replace chicken with beef, pork, or fish. There are always several versions that can be adapted according to your preference.  \n\n\n\nIn any case, be sure to season the meat well beforehand and use a fatty cut (ideally 30% fat content)\n\n\n\nSake: a rice alcohol with sweet and floral notes to balance the sweet and savory flavors, it never hurts. It goes very well with chicken, just taste Teriyaki chicken to believe it! \n\n\n\nTeriyaki chicken, there's nothing like it\n\n\n\nMirin: this is precisely the sweet umami flavor of Soboro Don. It's quite similar to sake, but less alcoholic and sweeter. For sauces and glazes, it's the best of the best.   \n\n\n\nLight soy sauce: here's the right amount of salt this dish needs. Light soy sauce is the element we need to give the meat its balance in flavors without bringing the sweet side that dark soy sauce has, which we can do without.  \n\n\n\nGreen onions: these have several roles to play in this recipe and what roles! On one hand, they will be used for the infused water, on the other, they will serve as a garnish. Green onions have the power to bring freshness where it was lacking, even in infusion. It's an effect almost equivalent to young onion oil with noodles, but much more subtle.    \n\n\n\nThe eggs: the omelette should be thin, soft, and very uniform, just like the minced meat. And yes, eggs are once again a powerful ally in Japanese cuisine! \n\n\n\nThe rice: it goes without saying for a dish of Japanese origin to use japonica rice. With its short grains and soft texture, it's the ideal type of rice for Donburi, but also for recipes like my latest one, Mame Gohan. \n\n\n\nTips for a successful Soboro Don\n\n\n\nBrowning the meat is very, very important. Really. You need to be patient at this step and resist the urge to mix immediately  \n\n\n\nThe green onion infused water: We deliberately add salt to it, in order to create a higher salt concentration in the water than inside the green onions. This way, we extract maximum flavor. Note that we won't use all of it, you can keep it to make wonton, for example  \n\n\n\n\n\n\tSoboro Don - Minced Meat Rice Bowl\n\t\t\n\t\tA delicious donburi with minced chicken and scrambled eggs, convenient and nourishing for quick lunch breaks!\t\n\t\n\t\tWok\t\n\t\n\t\tMinced Chicken250 g of chicken (minced, use chicken thigh)1 tablespoon of sake3 tablespoon of mirin1 teaspoon of sugar3 tablespoon light soy sauce2 tablespoon cornstarch1 teaspoon of ginger (grated)1 clove garlic (grated)1.5 tablespoon of green onion infused water (We won't use all the infused water)Green onion infused water1 green onion (very finely chopped)5 tablespoons water (hot)0.5 teaspoon saltScrambled Eggs3 eggs1 tablespoon of sugar1 pinch saltPlating2 portions of japonica rice (cooked)3 stems of green onions (thinly sliced)Beni shoga\t\n\t\n\t\tGreen onion infused waterIn a small bowl, dissolve the salt in the waterAdd the green onionLet it rest for 15 minutes in the fridgeMinced chickenMix all ingredients well in a bowlLet it rest covered for 15 minutes in the fridgeIn a wok over medium-high heat, add a bit of oil and let it heat upAdd the meat and spread it with a spatula. Let it brown on one side for 2-3 minutes Mix while breaking up the minced meat pieces a bit. Let it brown again Repeat until the meat is cooked, then set asideEggsIn a cold saucepan, mix the egg ingredientsPlace the saucepan over medium-low heatCook the egg mixture, stirring often to detach the cooked eggs from the bottom or sides of the pan and to maintain the bright yellow color of the eggsStir to break up large pieces into smaller onesCook the eggs until they are no longer liquid and are soft and fluffy. Set aside PlatingPlace the rice in individual bowlsArrange the minced chicken on half of the rice and the scrambled eggs on the other halfPlace the green onions in a line in the middleGarnish with pickled red ginger, if desired\t\n\t\n\t\tBrowning the meat is very, very important. Really. You need to be patient at this step and resist the urge to mix immediately  \nNote on green onion infused water\nSalt is deliberately added to create a higher salt concentration in the water than inside the green onions. This way, we extract maximum flavor \n\t\n\t\n\t\tDonburi, Main courseJapanesePoulet, Sauce soja light","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}