Sanshoku-Don (Three-Color Rice Bowls)
4 servings
10 min 20 min
Main Dish Japanese Chicken
Submitted by Brynne Corcoran
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken (see Tip)
- 1 tablespoon finely minced or grated fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons shoyu
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water or dashi
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- Salt
- Salt
- 1 cup frozen peas or French-cut green beans, or 3 packed cups fresh baby spinach, baby kale or other tender greens (optional, see Tip)
- 6 cups cooked Japanese short-grain white rice, such as Koshihikari or Calrose
- Handful of sliced scallions
- Beni-shoga (see Tip)
Directions
Prepare the chicken: Combine chicken, ginger, shoyu, sake, mirin, sugar and water in a large nonstick or carbon-steel skillet, saucepan or wok. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, using chopsticks or a spoon to stir and break the chicken down into very small pieces, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the liquid in the pan evaporates and the chicken starts to brown slightly, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and set it aside.
Prepare the eggs: Rinse out the pan (you don’t need to dry it). Combine the eggs, mirin and a pinch of salt in the now-empty pan. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the eggs are just set but still very moist, 2 to 3 minutes. (There will be some sticking to the pan.) Transfer the eggs to a bowl and set aside.
Prepare the greens (optional): Wipe out and rinse the pan (you don’t need to dry it), add 1 cup water, season with salt to taste, and bring to a simmer over high heat. Add the frozen vegetables or fresh greens, and cook, stirring constantly, until just heated through but still bright green. Drain thoroughly. (If using a leafy green, set the cooked greens in a strainer over the sink, and, using a spatula, press down them to drain any extra liquid.)
To assemble, divide the rice among 4 bowls or bento boxes. Top with chicken, eggs and greens, arranging each ingredient so it covers a third of the rice. Sprinkle with scallions and add a pinch of beni-shoga to the center of each. Serve hot bowls immediately, or close bento boxes (see Tips).
Notes
You can use any ground meat or vegetarian ground meat alternative in place of the chicken. Lean meat works best for this dish, but you can always drain excess fat off the meat in Step 4, before spooning the meat over the rice.
Beni-shoga is bright red or pink slivered pickled ginger that can be found in Japanese markets or well-stocked supermarkets. You can also use sushi gari or other types of Japanese pickles if you prefer.
For best flavor, don’t refrigerate bento boxes after packing, just make sure to consume within four hours of packaging the hot food for safety. The individual toppings can also be prepared in advance and reheated in the microwave until piping hot before packing and closing bento boxes.