Donburi Delights: Exploring the Layers of Japan's Favorite Rice Bowl Dish

Looking for a comprehensive guide on donburi, one of the most popular dishes in Japan? You’re in luck! We'll discuss its basic concept and different types, including popular ones like gyudon, katsudon, tekkadon, and tendon.

Introduction to Donburi

Donburi is a Japanese rice bowl dish topped with various ingredients, from seafood to meat and vegetables. It’s one of the most basic dishes in Japanese cuisine and is a staple meal in most households in the country. The literal translation of the term donburi is “bowl.” Hence, the word is used to refer to both the dish and the oversized rice bowl in which people serve it. If you want to get specific, the bowl is called donburibachi, while the dish is called donburimono, donmono, or simply don.

This hearty and satisfying delight is a popular comfort food in Japan. It’s so easy to make that anyone with basic culinary skills can cook up a simple version within minutes. You’ll find it in most Japanese restaurants, food stands, and even vending machines. Despite its lack of complexity, donburi is one of the most diverse meals in the country, with an endless list of varieties.

Understanding Donburi: Definition and Varieties

Donburi is basically cooked rice served in a bowl and topped with any other ingredient or side dish. A basic donburi recipe consists of boiled white rice with protein, vegetable toppings, and a moderate drizzle of sauce. The sauce is typically a combination of dashi broth mixed with a small amount of soy sauce and mirin.

To highlight the versatility of the dish, the following are some of the most popular types of donburi in Japan, and they are unique for their toppings and sauce:

Gyudon (beef bowl): Arguably the most famous type of donburi, gyudon is a bowl of rice topped with thin slices of beef, onions, and a slightly sweet sauce. To enhance its flavor, the dish may include eggs, pickled ginger, kimchi, and scallion. 

Katsudon (pork cutlet bowl): This dish consists of breaded and deep-fried cutlets simmered in savory sauce, onion, and scrambled egg. Pork cutlets (tonkatsu) are the most common katsudon toppings but chicken katsu is also popular. There is a similar dish called sosukatsudon that replaces the egg and onion with cabbage and adds a sweet and savory flavor with Worcester-based sauce.

Tendon (tempura bowl): This is a light and crispy rice bowl topped with tempura. There are a wide variety of tempura ingredients used, but the most common ones are shrimp, squid, and fried vegetables.

Tekkadon (tuna bowl): It features thin slices of raw tuna on hot rice. People often enjoy it as a spicy dish by adding spicy orange sauce, spring onions, chili peppers, and other hot ingredients.

Oyakodon (Chicken and egg bowl): In English, its literal translation is “parent and child rice bowl,” in reference to the relationship between chickens and eggs. This simple yet highly nutritious meal involves cooking the chicken and egg with onion in a savory soy sauce broth.

Ikuradon (salmon roe bowl): Buttery salmon roe is served on hot steamed rice, creating a tasty contrast of flavors and texture. 

Butadon (pork bowl): This dish is identical to gyudon, but it uses grilled pork slices instead of meat. Butadon originated on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, and often contains caramelized soy sauce.

Kaisendon (seafood bowl): This is another Hokkaido specialty dish. It can contain any kind of seafood. Some restaurants like to serve it with random seafood each day. The best seafood for kaisendon are scallops, crab meat, salmon roe, and sea urchin. We’ll reveal more about seafood donburi later in this post.

The History of Donburi

The origins of donburi in Japanese cuisine began in the Muromachi period (1336–1573) with its predecessor, a dish known as houhan. This vegetarian dish was simply a bowl of rice topped with vegetables and dashi broth. It was a staple in temples.

During the Edo period (1603–1868), kendon-ya, ancient Japanese specialty restaurants that served houhan, opened in the city of Edo (old Tokyo). At first, they called the meal “kendonburi-bachi,” but abbreviated it to donburi-bachi or donburi. It became a fast, convenient meal for workers, similar to modern-day fast food.

Donburi, as we know it today, first emerged in the early 19th century, near the end of the Edo period. Unadon, the original version, was a bowl of rice topped with grilled eel and sweet caramelized sauce. It was often served at traditional theaters. Restaurants selling donburi became popular throughout the country. The late 19th century, specifically during the Meiji era (1868–1912), saw the creation of a wide variety of donburi-mono, a trend that continued into the 20th century. Many of these variations, like gyudon, katsudon, tekkadon, and oyakodon, are still popular today. 

The Economics of Donburi: Cost-Effective Japanese Cuisine"

Donburi Japanese dishes offer cost-effective options for diners and other restaurants without compromising on taste or satisfaction. That is one of the key reasons these eateries love to sell it. One could argue that donburi’s cost-effective nature was responsible for its massive popularity in the 19th century. Because of the simplicity of the Japanese rice bowl,  restaurants can stick to local ingredients and still offer plenty of options to their customers. Many of them simply adjust their menus to include seasonal ingredients.

Donburi is also easy to make. Hence, fast food chains and stores with vending machines sell it to customers in need of a quick and tasty meal. Households can also enjoy the economical benefits of donburi by making it using leftover ingredients. Wouldn’t you rather make a bowl of rice to eat with those leftover veggies than wait for them to go bad?

Seafood Donburi: A Closer Look

Japan is famous for having lots of islands surrounded by vast seas. Hence, it has an abundance of seafood options, many of which make it into steaming donburi rice bowls. This has led to the creation of the famous seafood donburi or kaisendon. Originating from Hokkaido, this type of donburi contains one or several kinds of seafood on top of rice. The following are some of the most popular seafood toppings in Japan:

1. Salmon

2. Tuna

3. Eel

4. Squid

5. Shrimp

6. Scallops

7. Crab

Many of the restaurants that serve kaisendon allow customers to select or mix different kinds of seafood. Some use a random daily selection or rely solely on the fish that are in season. Since the seafood enhances the overall flavor of the bowl, the only correct way to enjoy kaisendon is to eat the seafood and the rice evenly and not separately.

Feasting on Donburi: From Street Food to Gourmet Delight"

The donburi scene has changed a lot since its humble origins as street food for busy workers and artisans. Although you can still find simple versions of the dish sold on the streets, donburi has developed a status as a gourmet delight in upscale Japanese restaurants. The following are four of the best places in Japan to experience authentic donburi:

1. Shitamachi Tendon Akimitsu (Asakusa, Tokyo): If you want to enjoy the best tempura on rice dish in the world, this should be your destination. The restaurant is famous for being a serial gold medal winner in the annual Donburi Grand Prix, a competition in which restaurants showcase their special donburi dishes. We recommend that you try the restaurant’s famous Godaime tendon.

2. Donburi Chaya (Sapporo, Hokkaido): This is a popular seafood restaurant in the region responsible for inventing seafood donburi. It’s a specialty restaurant that sources fresh ingredients from the local seafood market.

3. Katsudon Hozenji Yokocho (Namba, Osaka): You’ll struggle to find a specialty restaurant with katsudon dishes as delicious as the ones served here. The restaurant has received glowing reviews from many high-profile critics.

4. Hisago (Higashiyama, Kyoto): This is one of the best places to enjoy oyakodon in the country. You’ll love the juicy chicken and fluffy egg rice bowl.

Conclusion:

Donburi is the ultimate reflection of Japanese culinary ingenuity. A single bowl offers simplicity, comfort, and flavor all at once. If you want to get a quick sense of this delicious meal, we recommend that you explore as many varieties as you can in your kitchen or on your travels to Japan.

They say variety is the spice of life, and at Bokksu, we tend to agree. That’s why every month, we curate a list of different kinds of Japanese sweets and snacks and send out boxes of these treats to our subscribers. Get a Bokksu Snack Box Subscription to enjoy these monthly mystery boxes.