Oyako Donburi Modified

Oyako Donburi, or "mother and child ricebowl" is a huge favorite at our house. I've found that it's equally delicious, and exceptionally convenient, when I add vegetables to the pan in addition to the traditional onions, eggs and chicken. Everything is savory from the sauce and all we need is a pot of rice for a nutritious dinner.

I find the sauce in most recipes too sweet for our tastes, so this is dialed back a bit. Add 1/2 T more mirin and 1 T more sugar if you like a sweeter flavor. I serve it over short-grain brown rice; the rice takes much longer to cook than the oyako donburi, so if you want to make this after work, consider making the rice the evening before and reheating it for dinner. This recipe serves a family of four, but probably not four adults.

Last night I used diced leftover teriyaki chicken thighs, already cooked so I threw them in the sauce just before adding the egg. It was delicious!

1 T vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4" quarter rounds

1/2 c thinly sliced carrot (on diagonal)

4 scallions, cut on diagonal and white and green parts separated

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced into 1/4" pieces

1.5 cup dashi or low sodium chicken broth

5 T soy sauce

2 T mirin

2 T sugar

1 T salt

4 shiitake dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water to rehydrate and sliced thinly

2 cups fresh spinach, torn or cut into 1-2" pieces

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Heat the vegetable oil in a 10" saute pan, saute the yellow onion, scallion whites and carrot till just softened. Add the chicken, stir, add the next six ingredients through the shiitakes and bring to a simmer. Cook 3 minutes, then add the spinach, stir and cook 2 more minutes until spinach is wilted.

Pour the eggs over the chicken and vegetable mixture in a steady stream. Spread 1/2 the green onions over the eggs, place the lid on the pan and cook approximately four minutes. Check the eggs to see that they're not too runny. When the eggs are done to your liking, place a scoop of hot rice in a bowl, add a wedge of the egg mixture, drizzle with sauce and top with green onions. Enjoy!

Chickpea and Chard Soup

This soup is what happened when I couldn't decide between two different soups, Heidi Swanson's Chickpea Hot Pot and Eating Well's Aromatic Middle Eastern Soup.

My only complaint about the recipes on 101 Cokbooks is that they are often too sweet for us, and we all love the warmth of Middle Eastern spices. I had just this amount of bulgur to use, as well as a bunch of chard from our farm box so it was convenient, came together quickly and was absolutely delicious.

I had a number of lingering allium in the fridge, so I made this with a shallot, 1.5 leeks sliced into thin quarter-rounds, two spring onions sliced thinly and 2 stems of green garlic, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced. But that would be a high-maintenance recipe, and I think it will be equally delicious with the yellow onion and a shallot.

I made it the night before for a quick weekday dinner with salad and a loaf of crusty whole grain bread.

1.5 T EVOO

1 medium yellow onion, small dice

1 shallot, small dice

1 t each ground cumin, coriander

1/4 t each turmeric, salt, black pepper, ground ginger

1 pinch each cinnamon and aleppo pepper or chile pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup bulgur

5 cups veg bouillon* or low sodium chicken broth

1 can chickpeas, drained

3 c chard, stemmed and cut into thin ribbons

1 T lemon juice

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, add onion and shallot and saute till just softened. Add spices and garlic, stir and saute 1 minute.

Add 1 T water, saute, stirring, until water evaporates, and add bulgur. Stir until bulgur is well coated with spices and oil, and add the broth, bring to a simmer, and add the chickpeas. Bring to a simmer.

Simmer about 10 minutes, until the bulgur softens. Add the chard, stir and simmer till chard is tender. Add lemon juice and serve. If you are waiting a day to serve, add lemon juice when you reheat the soup to prevent the chard from turning gray.

* This is an easy recipe that makes TONS of bouillon that keeps well and stays very spoonable in the freezer. It's completely revolutionized my veg cooking. Use 1 t for every cup of water.