Oyako-don (親子丼）

It's the last day of my "Christmas long weekend."  Things are supposed to go back to normal tomorrow... well not really, because this coming Friday we'll have another long weekend!  I think I'll still be in a holiday mood til the end of next week.  :P

Anyways, since I have to bring lunch tomorrow, I have to cook something that I can bring to work.  I decided to make Oyako-don (親子丼), which is a chicken and egg rice bowl.  In Japanese, Oyako (親子) literally means "parent and child".  I have asked a few Japanese friends why this dish is called "parent and child rice bowl," and so far I've got 2 explanations:

1)  Parent and child - that means the hen and the egg.  You're eating the "parent" and the "child."
2)  It is a very nutritious dish, so mothers should make this dish often for their children.

Hmm... I don't wanna think about number 1, because it sounds so cruel.  Unfortunately I think that's a more common explanation.  >.<  ANYWAYS...

Here's the recipe for today's Oyako-don: 

Ingredients: (serve 4)

6 bowls of rice

400g of chicken, diced

1 bunch of mitsuba

4 eggs, beat in a bowl

Sauce:

1.5 cups of Dashi Stock

3 tbs of soy sauce

3 tbs of mirin

1)  Wash and chop the mitsuba into small peices.

2)  Mix all the sauce ingredients together.

3)  Stir fry the diced chicken in a fry pan.  When it's almost done, pour the sauce into the fry pan. 

4)  When the chicken is done, pour the egg and sprinkle the mitsuba into the fry pan.

5)  Cover the lid, and turn off the stove.  Let it sit for about a minute or two.  It's almost done!

6)  Put rice in rice bowls.  Put the cooked chicken and egg on top of the rice. 

I sometimes use onions or green onions instead of the mitsuba... mainly because mitsuba is not easy to find, and it's quite expensive.  Onions and green onions are cheaper substitutes.  Also I've seen some people substitute tofu or seafood for chicken, but then... will it be still called Oyako-don?  There's no more parent and child relationship...