Cycle 14 – Item 352

23 (Sat) December 2023

Oyakodon Deconstrux

3.0

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with W and IZ

Rather than scrambling the eggs, as per the traditional method, I poached them in the sauce.

In Korean cooking, eggs are poached in just 2 dishes: sundubu jjigae (see for example 1.345 Sundubu Jjigae) and ramyeon (see for example 3.218 Neoguri Ramyeon with Bean Sprouts & Egg).

Then, one fateful day, I tried applying the technique in another Korean soup dish, to great success (see 5.303 Doenjang Jjigae with Egg).

Since then, it’s become default (see also 14.297 Chamsongi with Poached Eggs in Galbi Tang Soup; 14.117 Curry Rice with Poached Eggs; 13.364 Dak Kal Guksu with a Perfectly Poached Egg; 6.362 Ggongchi-Kimchi Jjigae with Poached Eggs).

Didn’t quite work as well here.   The scrambled egg in traditional oyakodon acts as a binder to bring together the chicken + rice + onion + sauce, while also contributing a creamy silkiness – but with a poached egg, all the components were left hanging on their own, no cohesion.  Still a good dish, though not really oyakodon.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)