Top 15 Japanese rice bowls you should try

Japanese rice bowls are always packed with nutritious ingredients that won’t leave you feeling hungry afterward, whether you’re looking for healthy dinner options or filling vegetarian meals. Furthermore, rice bowls are easily modifiable. Each family member may choose what they wish to include or exclude, making this a fail-safe family dinner concept. Simply place the items in separate bowls and allow everyone to create their own meal. We guarantee you will not hear any complaints! If you can’t get enough, Japanese rice bowls make the finest lunch leftovers the next day. So, without further ado, learn everything there is to know about Japanese rice bowls right now.

I. What are Japanese Rice Bowls?

Here’s what to do if you simply have no idea what to make for supper tonight: Cook some rice, quinoa, farro, or any other grain. Gather some vegetables from your refrigerator. Place everything in a bowl. Finally, add a protein (a fried egg! Grilled chicken? Tofu?). A fast sauce or a squeeze of lemon juice will truly make your dinner sparkle; it makes all the difference. In essence, the recipes for these vibrant, simple rice bowls are variations on that formula; they include straightforward suggestions for evening meals and more inventive bowls to liven up your Wednesday.

The rice bowl. These meals are straightforward but filling, and they have recently become more well-known outside of their native Asian nations. However, while many of the rice bowls invented outside of Japan contain fashionable, healthy ingredients like quinoa, the real kind from Japan is perfect when you’re looking for a hearty, filling lunch.

These Japanese rice bowls or rice-and-named-topping are known as donburi in Japanese.  The idea behind donburi is brilliant in some people’s eyes. A one-bowl Japanese rice bowl size is a perfect dish to prepare at home because it has nutritious ingredients including grains, protein, vegetables, and sauce.

Even fast food franchises that specialize in Japanese rice bowls may be found in Japan, where you place your order, pay, and then pick it up at the serving counter. They are so convenient and filling that it is no surprise that office employees favor them for quick meals.

Keep reading to learn some of the simple recipes for Japanese rice bowls you can prepare on any day of the week if you enjoy the idea of mouthwatering Japanese rice bowls.

II. Types of Japanese rice bowls and applications of each type

Japan is home to nearly endless regional styles of donburi. However, there are a few types of traditional Japanese rice bowls that you’re likely to find wherever in Japan you travel. Here are 15 of them.

<>1. Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Bowl)

Pronunciation: oh-yah-koh-don

This donburi’s name translates as “parent-child rice bowl.” While the moniker is a tad ghoulish, it is unquestionably delicious.

Oyakodon is chicken, onion, and egg cooked in a mirin, soy sauce, sake, and sugar broth and served over rice. The egg is runny, making it easy to incorporate into the rice.

This protein-packed home-style dish scores for its simplicity as a twist on the chicken-and-egg combo. It’s filling but healthful, making it a go-to lunch to kick off the week.

<>2. Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

 Pronunciation: gew-don 

Gyudon (beef bowl) is one of the best Japanese rice bowls, featuring thinly sliced beef cooked with onion in a savory-sweet sauce. This type of donburi can be found at a number of restaurants, including convenient, low-cost chain restaurants. It’s created with thinly sliced beef cooked in a mixture of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It’s frequently accompanied by beni shoga, a type of pickled ginger that ranges in color from light pink to brilliant crimson. The sweet-savory flavor of the meat pairs well with the refreshing acidity of the ginger. As shown above, it can also be topped with a soft-boiled egg.

<>3. Tendon (Tempura Donburi)

 Pronunciation: tehn-don 

The ‘ten’ in ‘tendon’ actually derives from tempura, despite the fact that when written out in English, the name of this donburi appears like the name of the tissue that joins muscle to the bone! Depending on the restaurant or the order, the tempura you receive in your rice bowl may vary, but a typical type is a mixture of vegetable tempura and a piece of shrimp tempura.

Ten Don’s recipe for golden, crispy shrimp and vegetable tempura, served over steamed rice and drizzled with tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce), is a great treat for a memorable Saturday night dinner. Enjoy this dish with a cup of miso soup and a side of cooling salad for a complete dinner.

<>4. Unadon 

Pronunciation: oo-na-don 

Unadon is a specialty in Japanese cuisine. Unadon, which combines the words “eel” (unagi) and “donburi” (don), is a dish created with eel fillets that have been coated in a sweet-salty tare sauce. Even though eel is pricey seafood, you must taste this donburi. Unagi which has been expertly grilled is served with warm rice and a sweet caramelized sauce that is simply tempting. Unagi can be purchased already grilled or can be quickly grilled and vacuum-packed if you want to prepare unadon at home.

Order an una-ju if you want to indulge in even more eel. It shares the same idea as the unadon but is served in a box shape called a ju and frequently contains more eel than the unadon.

<>5. Katsudon 

Pronunciation: kah-tsuu-don

Katsudon is identical to oyakodon, except instead of chicken, tonkatsu—breaded deep-fried pork cutlets—is used. This is a wonderfully hearty dinner that is ideal for a day spent traveling!

6. Kaisendon 

A kaisendon, which may be simply translated as “seafood rice bowl,” is a dish that consists of a variety of sashimi over rice. Depending on the time of year, what is fresh that day, and the restaurant’s specialties, you may get a certain type of fish.

7. Vegan Poke Bowl

8. Soy-Glazed Eggplant Donburi

9. Mapo Tofu