Teriyaki Chicken Donburi

Teriyaki Chicken Donburi

Here's a pretty good picture of last night's dinner. The Nerd says I am getting closer to the flavor and texture of the donburi he remembers having in Seattle years ago. He used to get it at a Japanese Restaurant at First and Seneca in Seattle. It's down by the Harbor Steps. They did have amazing sushi when I went there, so I'm not surprised their donburi would be tasty.

I can't remember where I found the recipe online, but I've made my own changes to it, so here it is:

Teriyaki Chicken Donburi

3 cups of dry, short-grain white rice, cooked

3 cups water

½ cup Braggs, or wheat free Tamari, or wheat free soy sauce

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 clove of smashed, minced garlic

2 organic chicken breasts, thinly sliced

3 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally

2 carrots, julienned

2 cups of mung bean sprouts

12 reconstituted shiitake mushroom caps, or 12 fresh caps

Grapeseed oil, or another high heat oil

Pickled ginger, optional

**Note** The marinade and chicken can be made up the night before, to let the flavors soak in better. See steps 2-5.

1. Cook the rice, and keep warm.

2. Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, onion powder, and garlic. Set aside.

3. Thinly slice the chicken breasts.

4. Reserve 1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons of the sauce/marinade.

5. Place chicken breasts into marinade, and make sure all of the pieces are fully covered. Cover the container with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.

6. Drain the mushrooms, and squeeze out as much excess water as you can.

7. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium to 
medium-high heat.

8. Add the julienned carrots and cook until just before they are tender. Toss in the mushrooms and sprouts next. If you need more oil because of sticking, add it .

9. Stir fry until everything is tender, but not soggy.

10. Remove the vegetables and set aside, keep them warm.

11. Now it’s time for the chicken. Do a test piece of chicken to make sure the pan isn’t too hot or too cold. If it’s too hot then there will be a lot of smoke and sticking. If the pan is too cold you won’t hear any sizzle.

12. Cook up the rest of the chicken, but do not overcrowd the pan. This isn’t stir frying either, so flip each piece of chicken individually. Chopsticks work well for this.

13. Turn off the heat, and set the cooked chicken aside. Keep it warm.

14. Pour some of the reserved marinade into the bottom of each individual serving bowl. Top with rice.

15. Top the rice with 3 mushrooms per bowl, and some of the carrots and bean sprouts.

16. Neatly place the cooked chicken over the top of the vegetables, and garnish with pickled ginger and green onions.