Glossary - Kitchen Tools

Oyakonabe / Oyakodon Pan

A cooking saucepan specially made for rice bowls that makes delicious egg-bound dishes

What is oyakonabe?

Oyakonabe (親子鍋 in Japanese) is a saucepan for cooking individual portions of rice bowl accompaniments such as oyakodon and katsudon. Oyakonabe is a flat, shallow saucepan akin to a small frying pan, and often has a vertical handle. The pot is often made of aluminum, stainless steel, fluororesin, or copper, while the handle is often made of wood or brass. Copper is particularly popular because of its good thermal conductivity. In some cases, a special lid is used in order to cook the ingredients quickly.

Cooking oyakodon using the lid

How to use

When cooking oyakodon, use it as follows. Put one portion of dashi and seasonings into the oyakonabe, add ingredients such as chicken and onion, boil, then add beaten eggs and cook, to then finally slide it on top of the rice in the bowl. As oyakonabe can cook for one person at a time, prepare dashi and seasonings for the number of people in advance.

Serving oyakodon from the oyakonabe

Substitute for oyakonabe: when you don’t have it

Oyakonabe can be substituted with a small frying pan or saucepan.

Trivia

The appeal of oyakonabe is that it makes delicious egg-bound dishes. When adding the beaten eggs, it is best not to add them all at once. Add about 70% first, and when the eggs are lightly cooked, add the rest and cook for about 10 seconds to create fluffy egg-bound dishes.

Caution

As the oyakonabe is small, heating it for too long will decrease the dish’s moisture, so it is best to be cautious about heating time. Also, if you add too much stock, ingredients and beaten eggs, the pot may overflow, so it is recommended to stick to the correct measurements.

Please note that oyakodon and katsudon are dishes that use ingredients for raw or semi-cooked consumption. To avoid food poisoning and to safely enjoy home-cooked meals, we ask you to adhere to the guidelines provided by your local Food Safety Information Center for the procurement, storage, cooking and other preparation methods of food ingredients.