Soboro Don (Ground Chicken Bowl)

Soboro Don is a rice bowl generally topped with three ingredients: ground meat (meat soboro), finely scrambled eggs (egg soboro), and a green vegetable. "Soboro" refers to ground meat, fish, or eggs that have been simmered or stir-fried until finely crumbled, and "Don" is a shortened term for 'donburi,' which means a rice bowl. The most commonly used ingredient for the ground meat is chicken.

In Japan, there are no other famous rice bowls topped with three different colors, so it is also called Sanshoku Don (three-color rice bowl). The flavors of the three ingredients complement the rice well, ensuring a satisfying meal. It is a hearty and nutritious dish.

The ground meat used for this dish can include chicken, beef, or pork. While chicken is commonly used, you can enjoy different flavors by using other types of meat.

For chicken, thigh meat is recommended, while leaner cuts are better for beef and pork. For more details, please refer to the linked page titled "Chicken Soboro."

In soboro don, commonly used green vegetables include spinach and peas. This recipe uses spinach due to its high nutritional value, but you can make it even easier by using peas. In that case, simply blanch the peas for about 1 minute and drain any excess water (no seasoning required).

You can also use a different green vegetable or make a two-color soboro don with just ground meat and scrambled eggs, without adding any vegetables. Feel free to try it based on your preference.

Ingredients

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Instructions

🕒 Total: 25 mins mins

Steps for cooking spinach:

Step 1
Fill a large pot with plenty of water and bring it to a boil.

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Step 2
When the water boils, add salt (approximately 1% of the water's volume, not included in the recipe). Then, place spinach in the pot, starting from the root ends. Cook only the stems for a minute, and submerge the leaves for an additional 30 seconds.

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Step 3
Remove the spinach from the pot and cool it under running water. Then, squeeze out any excess moisture.

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Step 4
Trim the spinach roots and cut the remaining portions into 1.6-inch (4cm) pieces. Place the spinach pieces in a bowl and toss them with sugar and soy sauce.

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Steps to make chicken soboro:

Step 5
Peel and grate ginger. Mix the grated ginger, ground chicken, and sake in a pot.

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Step 6
Heat the pot over medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.

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Step 7
Once the ground chicken is no longer pink, add sugar and soy sauce. Simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

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Steps to make egg soboro:

Step 8
Crack eggs into a bowl and beat them together with sake, sugar, and salt.

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Step 9
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, pour the beaten egg mixture into it. After it has partially set, stir quickly with chopsticks until fully cooked.

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Step to serve:

Step 10
Serve rice in each bowl and arrange the spinach, chicken soboro, and egg soboro on top in an attractive and colorful manner.

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To store

You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

For the spinach:

• Boil the spinach in a large pot of salted water. The purpose of using plenty of water is to remove the harsh taste from the spinach, and salt is added to prevent the color of the spinach from fading.
• Spinach should be boiled starting from the stems. Then, submerge the leaves to ensure even cooking.

For the chicken soboro:

• Ground chicken should be cooked over medium heat or lower. Cooking it over high heat can cause the meat to become tough.
• Keep stirring the ground chicken until it is cooked through. This will prevent it from becoming lumpy and losing its texture.