Pickled Plum
Chukadon (Chinese Style Donburi)
If stir fried veggies and tender shrimp, simmered in a savory gooey Chinese inspired gravy sounds like your thing, this Japanese chukadon recipe is definitely for you! I’ll show you how to make this Japanese rice bowl in under a half hour – plus we’ll have a look at some other popular donburi.
Why This Recipe Works
- East meets East. Savory Chinese flavors in a Japanese rice bowl.
- All the textures – and a sauce that smacks. Springy, juicy shrimp and crunchy veggies. A thick gooey sauce that flavors your rice to the bottom of the bowl.
- Easy to make. A hearty and nutritious one-pot meal. Just 25 minutes of your day.
Table of Contents
- What is Chukadon
- What is Donburi
- Chukadon Ingredients
- Sauce Ingredients
- How to Make This Chinese Style Rice Bowl
- Other Popular Donburi
- Storage
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What to Serve With Chukadon
What is Chukadon
Chukadon (中華丼) is a Japanese Rice bowl topped with stir fried vegetables, seafood and meat, simmered in a soy and sake based sauce. The sauce itself is thick, almost like a light gravy – and has a savory, umami and nutty flavor profile. While chukadon is a Japanese dish, the origins are Chinese. In fact, the basic Japanese translation of chukadon is “Chinese style donburi.”
What is Donburi
Don means bowl in Japanese. Donburi is a blanket term for veggies and proteins served over a large bowl of steamed rice. If you’ve had the famous beef bowl from Yoshinoya (that Japanese fast food chain you stumbled into at 2am), you’ve already tried donburi. Donburi comes in many forms though. From raw preparations like a tuna sashimi bowl – to this Chinese inspired chukadon.
Chukadon Ingredients
Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full recipe!
- Oil: Use a neutral cooking oil like vegetable or grapeseed oil.
- Onion: White onion works best – thinly sliced into half moons.
- Carrot: Great for a little earthy sweetness. Slice on the bias (diagonally).
- Boiled Bamboo: This has a mild sweet flavor and a texture that straddles the middle ground between crisp and soft. Boiled bamboo is commonly sold at Asian grocery stores as a single solid piece. But you can use canned bamboo shoots instead.
- Wood Ear Mushrooms: These crunchy and springy mushrooms can be bought fresh or dried. If you have leftovers, make this wood ear mushroom salad on the side!
- Shrimp: It’s fine to use frozen shrimp. Just make sure they are thawed, shelled and deveined.
- Napa Cabbage: Great for a pliant crunch. Regular cabbage would work in a pinch too.
- Chicken Stock: I prefer low sodium stock. Bouillon works too.
- Cornstarch: You’ll mix this with cold water to create a slurry. Stir it in at the end to thicken the sauce.
- Sesame Oil: Just a tablespoon adds such a wonderful toasted nuttiness. Stir this in at the very end, after the heat is off.
- Japanese Rice: It wouldn’t be a proper rice bowl without the namesake ingredient. I prefer using short grain Japanese rice for chukadon.
Pro Tip Slice your carrots to a uniform size so all the pieces cook at the same rate. A huge chunk of carrot will take longer to cook than a smaller piece.
Sauce Ingredients
- Soy Sauce: This is the main source of salt and umami in chukadon.
- Sake: I prefer using drinking sake for more mildly dry and sweet notes. But cooking sake (which contains added salt) is absolutely fine too.
- Salt and Ground White Pepper: White pepper is floral, woody and sharp. Use S&P to taste.
How to Make This Chinese Style Rice Bowl
- Get a large, deep skillet going over medium high heat, add the oil and swirl to coat the entire cooking surface.
- Add the onions and carrots first and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
- Then add the bamboo and cook for 1 minute.
- Next, add the wood ear mushrooms and the shrimp and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the napa cabbage and chicken broth to the skillet and cover with a lid. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Take the lid off, add the sake and soy sauce mixture and stir. Put the lid back on and allow to cook for 2 more minutes.
- Give the cornstarch and water slurry a good mix. Remove the lid. Add the cornstarch slurry slowly – stirring constantly. Stir until the sauce thickens.
- Finally, remove from the heat. Stir in the sesame oil and add salt and white pepper. Serve immediately over warm rice.
If you’re new to the short grain rice game, I’ve got you. Simply follow these easy instructions on how to make Japanese rice on the stovetop or in a rice cooker.
Other Popular Donburi
While this Chinese style donburi is super popular in Japan, chukadon isn’t the only famous rice bowl. Not by a long shot. Here are some other well known donburi you might like:
- Tekkadon: Thinly sliced marinated tuna sashimi with nori and shiso leaves.
- Mapo Tofu – Mabodon: This is another Chinese inspired rice bowl popular in Japan. Mildly spicy, tons of umami.
- Gyudon: This iconic beef bowl is maybe the most famous of all. Thinly sliced beef and onions over rice. OMG, yum.
EXPAND HERE FOR MORE JAPANESE DONBURI RICE BOWLS
- Oyakodon: Chicken and egg bowl. Literal translation: parent and child.
- Katsudon: A breaded pork cutlet over rice.
- Kaisendon: Fresh seafood (like uni, salmon roe, shrimp, scallops, tuna and salmon, etc). Similar to chirashizushi. However chirashi is served over vinegared sushi rice. Kaisendon is served over plain steamed rice.
- Tendon: Battered and lightly fried vegetable and shrimp tempura over rice.
- Unadon: Grilled eel over rice. AKA: unagidon.
Storage
Store leftover chukadon covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Be sure to store the stir fry and the rice in separate containers. If stored together, the sauce will waterlog the rice.
- If the flavors of your leftovers weaken a bit in the fridge, you can fix it. Drizzle with a little soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil and dust with white pepper after reheating. Good as new!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can! Simply sub the shrimp out for firm tofu, seitan or your favorite vegan meat substitute. Instead of the chicken stock, use vegetable stock.
While the texture will be a little different, shiitake mushrooms make a great stand in – and they’re fairly easy to track down at most grocery stores. If you use shiitakes, trim and discard the tough stems, and slice the mushrooms into strips.
Definitely. Actually, chukadon typically comes with thinly sliced pork belly along with the veggies and seafood. If you want to add another seafood element on top of the shrimp, squid is a great option.
What to Serve With Chukadon
This rice bowl is pretty hearty on its own. But, if you’re creating a Japanese feast at your place, here are some traditional side dishes that pair up perfectly.
- Goma-ae (Japanese Spinach Salad With Sesame Sauce)
- My Mom’s Miso Soup Recipe
- Edamame With Spicy Garlic Sauce
- Hijiki Salad (Hijiki No Nimono)
- Blistered Shishito Peppers
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Have you tried this chukadon recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
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