Chicken-and-Egg Casserole

Saw this one-dish meal on the popular Japan Hour some time ago; tried it but somehow the dish did not turn out to be anything spectacular. The concept however was very appealing: simple, fast and easy to prepare. What about the taste?

The dish seems to be very popular with the Japanese, and is offered in eateries as a one-dish meal. The rice is first cooked in the pan, then the chicken meat stew is placed onto the rice and cooked together in the casserole. Finally the eggs are added as the final step. Timing seems important for the success of the dish: the eggs should not be over-cooked. The dish is then served to the customer. The pan used is a small aluminum dish with a cover.

The first time I tried this dish I fried the chicken pieces before I put them in the casserole dish together with the rice.

Last Sunday I decided to have a second go using a different, simpler approach. The idea however is similar: chicken and egg casserole for one person. I decided to create my own cassrole dish using eggs and chicken.

This version uses rice already cooked in a rice-cooker and served separately. The method focuses on the way the chicken pieces are cooked and seasoned, as follows:

Cut up a boneless chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces. Marinade with soya sauce, pepper and 1 tsp cornstarch for 15 minutes or overnight. Use the amount of soya sauce and pepper as you would normally use to season for taste, neither too salty nor too peppery.

In a small casserole dish (enough for 1 person) liberally splash Tiparos (fish sauce) until the bottom is just covered, then add equal amount of water or stock. Sprinkle a few dashes of Maggi seasoning, half a star anise and a dash of cinnamon powder. Optionally add sugar to sweeten the dish. I used 4 tbl of leftover vinaigrette (see Asian Coleslaw recipe for
the vinaigrette) to add a sourish taste to balance the sugar.

When the mixture starts to boil in the casserole, add the marinaded chicken pieces and boil covered with the lid for about 5-8 minutes. Then add 4 fresh eggs to which a bit of Tiparos, pepper and Maggi seasoning has been added. Use a spoon to break the yolk but do not stir too much, as the yolk will taste better if it is not spread or thinned out in the broth.

Cover the casserole and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, but do not overcook. Serve immediately with chopped spring onions and chopped fresh coriander leaves. And the taste?

Simply out-of-this-world!