What is Donburi: A Complete Guide to Japanese Rice Bowl Dish
By Lisa Bot | Published 27 October 2023
Introduction to Donburi
What is Donburi?
Donburi (丼) is a flavourful and versatile Japanese dish featuring diverse toppings such as fish, meat, and various other ingredients beautifully layered over a bed of hot white rice. Often known as donburi rice bowls, these simple one-dish meals are topped with all your favourite Japanese foods, making them a perfect choice for a quick, delicious meal not just in Japan, but anywhere around the world.
This one-bowl meal is typically made complete with the addition of flavourful sauces and garnishes. Serving meal components all in a donburi rice bowl not only offers an array of tastes and textures with each bite, but it also provides a convenient, quick, and satisfying solution to hunger pangs — no wonder why donburi is a favourite amongst many.
Origin and History of Donburi
Donburi's long history can be traced back to Japan's Muromachi period (1333-1573) when a dish called 'houhan', comprising a bowl of rice swathed in stewed vegetables and flavourful dashi broth, was thoughtfully prepared in temples. However, the donburi as we know it today experienced its epic ascent during the Edo period (1603-1868).
It started off with a variety called 'unagi donburi', which featured sliced, grilled eel elegantly served over rice — a finger-licking delight passionate theatergoers in Tokyo would munch on during engaging performances. The "kendon-ya" restaurants, specialising in donburi, served this dish, initially referred to as "kendonburi-bachi" and eventually abbreviated to simply "donburi".
The dish quickly popularised, pushing its way from the theater onto street stalls and dedicated donburi restaurants. The range of donburi options available swiftly expanded, leading to the wealth of mouthwatering donburi bowl varieties we are so familiar and infatuated with today.
By the early 19th century, donburi had evolved into a bowl of rice garnished with grilled eel seasoned with caramelised soy sauce, termed una-don. The growth of this hearty dish was in part due to its popularity among theater buffs. Throughout lengthy Japanese traditional theater shows, such as Kabuki, Nô, and Kyogen, spectators would bring in this flavourful and easy-to-carry dish to snack on. Consequently, una-don stalls proliferated, etching donburi's place in history.
Moving forward, donburi continued its gourmet journey, enduring various adaptations to lead us to the countless delightful versions relished in the present day.
The Ultimate Guide to Different Types of Donburi
Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
Step into the world of donburi by exploring one of its most celebrated versions - the oyakodon. Or the 'parent and child' bowl, as its literally translated, this chicken donburi comes with a unique, comforting narrative of familial bonding over meals. Delight in the symphonic blend of chicken and egg, simmered together to yield a dish that's truly wholesome. This dish found its humble origins using leftover pieces of steamed chicken, cooked together with egg.
Relish in the harmonic dance of flavours oyakodon presents. Savoury chicken and tender onions simmered in a sweet and savoury chicken broth intermingles with soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Quick cooking with beaten eggs then results in a luscious, custard-like medley that's heaped onto a generous helping of steaming hot rice. The final glory is topped with a drizzle of salty-sweet sauce, elevating the flavours to new heights.
Owing to its flexible template, this dish provides a delightful element of customisation. The slightly runny eggs, succulence of chicken, the crunch of the onions, all seasoned with the warmth of the pearly rice, garnished with a sprinkle of spring onions - makes oyakodon a bowl brimming with joy. Spearhead more exploration with the addition of shichimi pepper for heat enthusiasts or consider a vegetarian rendition that symbolically replaces chicken with fluffy chunks of steamed egg served alongside rice.
Gyudon (Beef Bowl)
As one of the most iconic types of donburi, gyudon, or the beef bowl, holds a special place in the heart of Japanese fast-food lovers. This beef rice bowl, a staple in eateries from Tokyo Yakisoba to Shinjuku Kakekomi Gyoza, is traditionally an enticing combination of thinly sliced beef and onions, simmered in a mildly sweet broth. This meat and vegetable duo is then elegantly ladled over a bed of steaming rice, presenting a complete meal in a bowl that is as satiating as it is tantalising.
Customarily, gyudon comes bathed in a delightful dashi-based sauce — a hallmark of Japanese cuisine. This sauce, conjuring a harmonious blend of mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and sake, enhances the inherent sweet-savoury equilibrium of the beef rice bowl, elevating its flavour profile considerably.
The dish can be personalised with add-ons like pickled ginger, an over-easy egg, kimchi, or grated daikon radish with ponzu citrus dressing. These accompaniments add an extra dimension of texture and flavour, making gyudon an "experience" rather than just a meal.
Tekkadon
Let's move onto one of the simplest yet most rewarding donburi dishes, tekkadon. A go-to treat for raw fish lovers, especially tuna sashimi enthusiasts, tekkadon introduces you to a whole lot of captivating flavours in one compact bowl. Raw slices of tuna sashimi, similar to the salmon used in seafood donburi, sit on a fluffy bed of steamed rice, perfectly seasoned with vinegar.
The tanginess of the vinegar is complemented beautifully by the soy sauce that's served on the side, heightening the flavours of the fresh, tender tuna. An indispensable bonus is the garnishing with sliced scallions and hearty strips of nori seaweed, that wrap up this bowl into an edible piece of art.
Katsudon
Next, let's dive into another comfort food – katsudon. This dish, also known as a pork rice bowl, is a remarkable blend of deep-fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu), also referred to as pork katsudon, simmered in a sweet dashi-soy sauce broth along with onions and beaten eggs. The best katsudon comprises a tonkatsu cutlet that stays crisp, despite it being cooked in the flavourful broth, presenting an exceptional interplay of textures.
Normally, katsudon is served over warm steamed rice, an essential component that soaks up the appetising broth, enriching the overall flavour of the meal. Optimum crispy, juicy, and bursting with an array of flavours, this delightful pork rice bowl has won numerous global culinary hearts. You may also stumble upon a chicken variant of this delicacy, known as the chicken katsudon or chicken cutlet rice bowl.
Tracing back to 1921, the dish's origins have seen numerous regional adaptations each contributing its unique spin. As a revered comfort food, it's unsurprising that many Japanese students resort to chicken or pork katsudon the night before their exams, attributing it to good luck!
Unadon (Grilled Eel Rice Bowl)
Cuisine enthusiasts, behold – the unadon! Known formally as unagi donburi, 'unadon' is not just any rice bowl dish; it is a delightful specialty dish derived from the far reaches of Japan. It's an age-old favourite that has graced countless menus and claimed millions of hearts both within and beyond Japan's borders.
Unadon is an enchanting feast – served as a bowl of freshly steamed rice, beautifully crowned with a voluptuous layer of grilled eel fillets. These fillets are artfully prepared in the Kabayaki style where the eel is coated in a mouthwatering concoction of soy-based thick, sweet sauce similar to teriyaki and grilled over a charcoal fire. This grilled eel, richly coated in its teriyaki-like glaze, is served atop the rice and garnished typically with pickles. A sprinkle of sansho (Japanese pepper) might be an optional finish depending on local customs, which brings a refreshing touch to the palate.
The inception of this specialty dish, unadon, traces back to the Bunka era of Japan during the late Edo period, between 1804 and 1818. The dish was a convenient solution for theatergoers to enjoy meals during the lengthy Kabuki theatre performances. Today, myriad Japanese restaurants specialise in unadon, exhibiting its enduring appeal, much like Hokkaido's acclaimed Kaisendon, over the past century.
Butadon (Pork Donburi)
Now let's delve into the delicious world of butadon, also revered as 'pork donburi'. A similar yet alternative dish is the pork katsudon, offering equally delightful flavours. However, the hero ingredient of the butadon is the sweet, tenderly caramelised pork loin slices graciously draped over a serving of steaming hot rice, essentially forming a desirable pork rice bowl.
Originating in Hokkaido during the grim mad cow scare, butadon very naturally replaced its beefy counterpart - gyudon. Today, it's a ravishing delight celebrated all over Japan and beyond. Another variant evolved later, the popular pork katsudon, featuring a crispy deep-fried breaded pork cutlet atop a rice mound, doused in a flavourful soy-based sauce.
The dish owes its characteristic savouriness to the tare sauce that paints over the pork and steamed rice. This sauce is a melodious union of soy sauce, sugar, and sake. Their amalgamation produces a uniquely savoury tone, with a slight hint of sweetness and an unforgettable aroma. In some versions, similar to the sosu-katsudon, a delightful Worcester sauce is added on to the pork cutlet, enhancing the overall complexity of the delicious pork rice bowl.
Tamagodon
Taking a twist from the usual meat-inclusive donburi dishes, let's shine a spotlight on the wonderfully delightful yamagodon. This sumptuous dish is a staple in Japanese cuisine, catering specifically to vegetarians and anyone seeking a reprieve from meat.
Tamagodon replaces the traditional meat ingredients with a fluffy scrambled egg, often crafted from the day's leftover ingredients, mixed with a sweet donburi sauce. This egg-based mixture is then served over a steaming bed of rice, demonstrating its flexible template for using seasonal and leftover ingredients, and culminating into a simplistic yet hearty meal.
To lend the dish its unique, flavour-packed profile, onions, soy sauce, and mirin (sweet rice wine) are stirred into the eggs before serving. Each bite celebrates Japan's famed comfort food, but with an egg-centric twist.
Tendond
As we continue our journey down the road of donburi, we'll now explore tendond or tendon. This dish stars tempura as its chief ingredient which is a delectable assortment of lightly battered, deep-fried seafood — including scallops — and/or vegetables laid over a bed of steaming white rice. Similar to the luscious layers of seafood that grace kaisendon, tendond is not just a meal but a magnificent canvas blending art and food in one dish.
Tendond, where 'ten' means tempura, and 'don' refers to donburi, is akin to the flavourful ikuradon adorned with salmon roe (ikura), but a heaven-sent treat for tempura enthusiasts. The typical ingredients used are prawns, sweet potatoes, and a variety of other seasonal veggies, and like other donburi variations, it can be adapted to personal tastes or regional delights.
The freshly fried tempura, comparable to the golden nuggets of ikuradon’s ikura, is either soaked in a tentsuyu made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin or served separately with a soy or dashi-based sauce for dipping. This harmonious combination of crispy tempura, hot rice, and the umami-packed sauce, like the tantalising tanindon, creates a symphony of flavours and textures in each bite.
How is Donburi served?
Can You Eat Donburi With Spoons or Chopsticks?
Yes, absolutely! Though chopsticks are widely used in Japan for most dishes, when it comes to donburi, the choice between chopsticks and spoons is based on individual preference. Some find chopsticks allow them to better enjoy the array of textures and flavours in a bowl of donburi by picking up specific components at a time.
However, if the donburi has sauce-rich ingredients or smaller items that may be trickier to handle with chopsticks, spoons could come in handy. Essentially, you should savour your donburi in whatever way that makes your eating experience most enjoyable.
Does Donburi Have Eggs?
Yes, many donburi variations incorporate eggs. For instance, in oyakodon, chicken and eggs are combined with a flavourful sauce and served over rice. In tamagodon, the dish replaces the traditional meat ingredient with a fluffy scrambled egg. Furthermore, donburi such as the gyudon (beef bowl) and butadon (pork bowl) are often topped with a raw or lightly cooked egg to enhance their flavours. However, not all donburi dishes are served with eggs; it all depends on the recipe and your personal preferences.
Is Donburi Served warm or cold?
Donburi can be served either warm or cold, but as our research suggests, it's mostly enjoyed warm. The hot steamed rice in donburi pairs beautifully with warm toppings, be it succulent pieces of meat or grilled vegetables.
However, if the recipe contains delicate or raw seafood like in tekkadon, it might be served at a cooler temperature to ensure the freshness and texture of the seafood are maintained, although the rice would typically still be warm.
A few donburi forms like ‘chazuke’ are served cold, particularly during the summer. Cold donburi is an entirely different tasting experience. It's worth noting that the 'to be served hot or cold' aspect also hinges largely on cultural nuances and personal preference. While some folks enjoy their donburi piping hot, others may prefer it at room temperature or slightly cool.
Savouring Donburi: Where and How
Where to Eat a Donburi?
You can enjoy donburi just about anywhere. Given its popularity, numerous restaurants around the world offer their own version of this beloved dish. In Japan, you can easily find donburi at places ranging from supermarkets and convenience stores to upmarket dining restaurants.
Famed international brands like Yoshinoya and Sukiya serve donburi around the clock, even offering a late-night variant for those nocturnal food cravings. Then there are the upscale dining joints like Chikuyotei in Tokyo known for its unadon or Nihonbashi Tenmatsu, where you can feast on tendond.
Aside from that, with the necessary ingredients and recipe in hand, you can craft your own homemade version. This lets you customise your bowl to match your individual liking, right in the comfort of your own kitchen.
How to Enjoy Donburi
Enjoying donburi involves more than just the act of eating - it's about savouring each ingredient and every layer of flavour present in your bowl. Here's a simple guide to getting the most out of your donburi experience:
- Aromas First: Before you dive in, appreciate the symphony of aromas wafting from your bowl. This helps build a pleasing anticipation for the meal to follow.
- Savour with Sight: Admire the visual appeal of the dish – the vibrant colours, the neat arrangement of ingredients, and the glimmering glaze of sauces. Doing so establishes an essential sensory connection.
- Use the Right Utensils: Whether you use a spoon or chopsticks, ensure what you use allows you to comfortably pick up both the toppings and rice together. The blend of each bite is what makes donburi special!
- Feel the Texture: Pay attention to the interplay of textures with each bite. From the soft, fluffy rice to the crisp tempura or tender meats, the variations make the experience unique.
- Savour Slowly: Donburi is a comfort food meant to be savoured slowly. Instead of rushing, take your time with each bite, and appreciate the harmonious meld of flavours.
Remember, the best way to enjoy donburi is to create a relaxing ambiance and immerse yourself completely in the experience.
Making Donburi at Home
Donburi Recipe
This recipe takes you on a delicious journey to create your own yyakodon, or chicken and egg rice bowl. For an authentic taste, find the freshest ingredients you can get!
Ingredients:
- 2 large bowls of freshly cooked, steamed white rice
- 300g chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Freshly chopped spring onions or mitsuba for garnish
Instructions:
- Mix mirin, soy sauce, sake, and sugar in a bowl. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved.
- In a frying pan, sauté the onions until they’re translucent.
- Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned.
- Pour the sauce mixture into the pan. Simmer until the chicken is cooked and soaked with the flavours.
- Slowly pour beaten eggs all over the chicken. Cover the pan and cook for about a minute until the eggs are set to your desired doneness.
- Divide the rice equally between two bowls. Gently place the chicken-egg mixture on top of the rice.
- Garnish with green onions or mitsuba. Serve immediately with pickled ginger on the side if desired.
Remember, the essence of donburi is its versatility. Feel free to make modifications to suit it to your tastes!
Can I Make My Own Donburi?
Absolutely! Making your own donburi at home can be a fun and rewarding culinary adventure. The beauty of donburi is its versatility – you can get as creative as you want with the ingredients. Start with a base of steamed rice, then top it with your choice of proteins like grilled chicken, teriyaki beef, or tempura shrimp. Next, pile on the veggies, from sautéed mushrooms to pickled radishes, and don't forget to drizzle your favourite sauce, be it soy, teriyaki, or even a spicy mayo. The best part? You're in control of the portion size and ingredients, so you can make it as healthy or indulgent as your taste buds desire. So, roll up your sleeves, raid your pantry, and get ready to whip up a customised donburi bowl that's uniquely yours!
FAQs
What is the Difference Between 'Don' and 'Donburi'?
In the world of Japanese cuisine, 'donburi' typically refers to a style of dish that features a bowl of rice topped with various ingredients, such as meat, fish, or vegetables. This dish, a true Japanese favourite, holds a special place in hearts and bellies alike. Notably, 'donburi' is often shortened to 'don', and we see it used as a suffix attached to the type of ingredient that adorns the bowl of rice.
For example, 'gyudon', which is among donburi favourites, is a type of donburi dish where 'gyu' means beef in Japanese. Here, 'gyu' (beef) is the star ingredient, and 'don' simply stands for the donburi dish.
As such, while 'don' and 'donburi' essentially convey the same idea, the usage varies in context, with 'don' often used in the names of specific dishes. The distinction is mainly one of practicality, denoting the choice of topping in the donburi dish. These simple, one-dish meals topped with all of your favourite Japanese foods make donburi rice bowls a quick and delicious meal choice in Japan.
What Does Donburi Mean in English?
Donburi, commonly written as 丼 (どんぶり) in Japanese, roughly translates to 'bowl' in English. Historically, it signified a physical bowl, but it has evolved to denote a popular meal type, often referred to as a 'rice bowl' — the base for dishes like chicken katsudon and chukadon. Believed to have derived its meaning since donburi was often served at Japanese establishments known for their rice dishes, this dish features crispy katsu, either chicken or pork, that has been simmered in a sweet dashi and soy sauce broth with thinly sliced onion and a scrambled egg. You can also experience it with its stew beef variant, where thin slices of beef and onion are stewed in a sweet broth of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.
An interesting point in the cultural context is that donburi is a big part of everyday Japanese food culture due to its practicality and versatility, championed by its layers of rice topped with a crispy deep-fried meat cutlet, vegetables, eggs, and a combination of flavourful condiments. This can be seen in variations across different regions in Japan, each with their unique toppings and flavours, sometimes even with a sweet-salty Worcestershire sauce, or a pepper spice known as the shichimi, added for an elevated taste.
