My family made rice for dinner every night throughout my entire childhood. The only exception was pizza night on Friday nights. My dad would pick up a large cheese pie from N&D’s Pizza every Friday to bring home for dinner. We all anxiously waited for my dad to come home on Fridays so we could all gather around the dinner table and devour the fresh out of the oven pizza. On days other than pizza nights, my family’s go-to dinner is almost always rice with a variety of sides. In the Pan household, dinner isn’t considered dinner unless there was a bowl of steaming hot jasmine rice waiting to be divided into individual serving bowls for each member of the family. After moving away from home, I often missed my mom’s home cooked meals. I was very lucky as a kid to be able to roll into the dining room just after 7:00 p.m. and have a bowl of rice and a selection of side dishes waiting for me. On most nights, my mom would serve some form of an egg dish alongside the rice. She typically makes steamed eggs using whisked eggs, water, soy sauce, and scallions or scrambled eggs combined with vegetables. Despite how simple the ingredients were, the egg dishes were always so comforting. On days when I am especially missing my family, I like to make a chicken and egg omelet to serve with some jasmine rice. The version I’ve refined over the years is very loosely inspired by a Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl called Oyakodon. My first exposure to the delicious combination of chicken and egg omelet served with a savory umami sauce was in college. Since my pantry did not have a lot of the ingredients used in the Japanese version, I played around with a variation of the sauces in my pantry and developed my own version. My version uses a simple Shaoxing wine sauce drizzled into the chicken, onions, and egg omelet as it is cooked. When I made the omelet over the weekend, there was enough of the omelet to divide equally into four rice bowls.
Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl
· 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
· 1 (0.42 ounce) packet concentrated chicken broth or 1½ teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
· 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
· 2 teaspoons fine sugar
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
· ½ small onion, diced
· 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
· 6 eggs, lightly whisked
· Jasmine rice, for serving
· ½ stalk of scallion, green parts only, for garnishing
Directions:
1) In a small bowl, combine the Shaoxing wine, concentrated chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Set aside.
2) Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skillet. Once hot, add the diced onion. Drizzle a small spoonful (about a teaspoon) of the sauce into the skillet. Cook the onions until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions to a plate.
3) Add the chicken in a single layer to the pan. Drizzle with another spoonful (about 2-3 teaspoons) of the sauce. Cook until chicken is 75% cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Add the onions back into the pan. Cover the chicken and onions with the whisked eggs. Drizzle on the remaining sauce.
4) Turn the heat down to medium-low heat. Cover the skillet with a cover. Cook the omelet until cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Flip the omelet about halfway through the cooking process. Divide the omelet into four pieces. Serve with a side of jasmine rice.
Takeaways: If you don’t have a large skillet, divide the ingredients into two batches and cook the two batches separately. Try not to overcrowd the pan with the chicken, onions, and eggs to ensure even cooking.