Donburi (Japanese Rice Bowls)
What sets donburi apart from eating a dish with a side of rice is how the topping and rice interact. The sauce seeps down between the grains, while the rice balances the concentrated flavor of what's on top. Each bite brings them together in a slightly different proportion, right down to the seasoned rice at the bottom of the bowl.
These Japanese rice bowls include beef simmered with onions and fresh sashimi, with room for breaded cutlets and glazed vegetables, too. I like this format for a quick lunch because, with rice ready, a fast-cooking topping or some leftovers can become a satisfying meal in one bowl.
Beef Bowls
My Yoshinoya copycat simmers thin-sliced beef and onions in dashi with a splash of sweet white wine, and when you want to treat yourself, the Wagyu gyudon is my upgrade, with a silky sauce and beef that melts in your mouth. The Chaliapin steak bowl started out in the anime Food Wars, and I reworked it into a dish that works in real life: juicy steak under an onion and red wine sauce, over tangy ume rice.
Pork Bowls
Katsudon turns leftover tonkatsu into another meal as the panko crust soaks up the sweet and savory sauce. Butadon was first made for hungry farmers in Hokkaido's Tokachi region, and my version lacquers thick slices of pork belly in a caramelized soy glaze.
Chicken and Egg Bowls
After more than a dozen years of tinkering with oyakodon, I coat the chicken in potato starch so the egg stays creamy even when it's cooked through. If your rice is already made, a teriyaki egg takes three minutes, and soboro don is just as good at room temperature, so it's a natural for a bento.
Vegetarian and Vegan Bowls
Eggplant is the closest I've found to unagi's texture, and for the vegan poke, carrots simmered in konbu dashi take on a texture similar to ahi tuna. Soy sauce butter rice may sound like something a starving college student would make, but in Japan it's a comfort food for all ages, and it's ready in a minute if your rice is hot.
Seafood Bowls
When I visited my grandparents in Kyushu as a kid, I always hoped for zuke don, a bowl of marinated sashimi. My salmon version needs just 10 to 20 minutes in soy sauce and mirin, and if you'd rather skip the raw fish, the garlicky shrimp bowl is ready in about 15.
