Chicken rice bowl (soboro don)

‘Don’ is short for donburi, which is a Japanese rice bowl, and soboro means ‘crumbled meat’. This minced chicken cooked in a sweet-salty sauce with vegetables and spring onions is a quick midweek meal. - Matthew Evans, For the Love of Meat

Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil 
• 55 g (¼ cup) sugar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) mirin, plus ½ tsp
• 60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 400 g free-range chicken mince
• 4 eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• steamed rice and steamed green vegetables, such as spinach, snow peas or mizuna
• pickled red ginger and sliced spring onion, to garnish 

Instructions

In a heavy-based frying pan, combine 1 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons sugar, 60 ml (¼ cup) mirin, the soy sauce and ginger. Place the over medium heat and stir for 1 minute or until heated through. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly and breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Continue cooking the mixture until the chicken starts to colour, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl, then add the salt and remaining sugar and beat well. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan over medium–low heat, then add the egg mixture and stir continuously until the eggs are scrambled.

Divide the steamed rice among four deep bowls. Place the chicken on one side of the bowl, the egg on the other and the steamed green vegetables down the middle. Garnish with pickled ginger and sliced spring onion.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Vanessa Austin. Food preparation by Alex Herbert.

For The Love of Meat with Matthew Evans starts Thursday 20 October at 7.30pm on SBS and then on SBS On Demand.  Visit the program page for show information, related articles and more recipes. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.