Fish-Cake and Egg Rice Bowl (木の葉丼, Konohadon)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Small oyakodon nabe, or an 8-inch skillet with a lid
• •Donburi bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. The pale powder on the surface is not dirt, it is flavor. Put the konbu and cold water in a small pot and bring it up slowly over low heat, about ten minutes. Lift the konbu out when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, before a full boil. Boiling the kelp coarsens the stock and clouds the clean taste you need for a Kansai bowl.

   You're steeping the konbu, not boiling it. The rule is only the shortest way to say protect the clarity.
2. 2

   Finish the dashi

   Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and turn off the heat. Leave it alone for two or three minutes, until the flakes sink. Strain through a cloth or fine-mesh strainer and let it drip on its own. Don't squeeze. Squeezing presses the strong, smoky, oily flavors into the clear stock, and this bowl has nowhere to hide them. Measure out 1 cup of dashi for the donburi and save the rest.

   For this dish, instant powder gives you salt before depth. Fresh dashi is quick, and here the stock is the quiet backbone of the bowl.
3. 3

   Prepare the toppings

   Have the rice hot in two donburi bowls before you start the topping. Slice the kamaboko into thin half-moons, slice the shiitake, and cut the scallions on a long diagonal. Stir the eggs with chopsticks just until the yolks break and yellow and white still show in streaks. Don't whip them frothy, or the egg sets dull and spongy instead of soft.

4. 4

   Mix the broth

   In a measuring cup, combine 1 cup dashi, sake, mirin, usukuchi shōyu, sugar, and a small pinch of salt only if needed. Taste it. It should be a little stronger than you'd want to drink, because rice and egg will soften the seasoning. This is the small arithmetic of donburi: season the broth for the rice it will meet.

5. 5

   Simmer one serving

   For the neatest egg, cook one bowl at a time. Pour half the broth into a small oyakodon nabe or an 8-inch skillet and bring it to a gentle simmer. Add half the shiitake and half the kamaboko in a loose fan, so the fish-cake slices still read like leaves. Simmer for about two minutes, until the shiitake turns glossy and the kamaboko is warmed through. Add half the scallion for the last 30 seconds. The toppings must be ready before the egg goes in, because the egg won't wait politely while you finish arranging things.

   Kamaboko is already cooked. You're warming it and seasoning it lightly, not boiling it into toughness.
6. 6

   Set the egg

   Pour about two-thirds of one serving's beaten egg around the pan, moving in a circle rather than dumping it in the center. Cover for about 30 seconds, just until the edges begin to set. Pour in the remaining egg, add a few mitsuba leaves if you're using them, cover again for 10 to 20 seconds, and stop while the surface is still glossy and soft. The first pour holds the toppings together. The second gives you the tender surface that makes the bowl worth eating.

7. 7

   Slide and repeat

   Slide the topping over one bowl of hot rice in a single motion, keeping the kamaboko leaves visible rather than burying them. Repeat with the remaining broth, toppings, and egg for the second bowl. Spoon over any broth left in the pan and serve at once, while the rice is hot and the egg still trembles.

Chef Tips

• •Choose kamaboko that feels springy and smells cleanly of the sea, not sour or stale. If the fish cake is tired, don't hide it under more soy. Change the dish. Nothing hidden.
• •Usukuchi shōyu keeps the broth pale in the Kansai way. If you only have koikuchi soy sauce, use the same amount and accept a darker bowl. Don't add extra soy just to chase salt, or the broth turns heavy.
• •Cook one serving at a time if you can. It looks fussy on paper, but the pan work takes two minutes, and the egg lands softer than it will in one crowded skillet.
• •This bowl has no meat, but it is not vegetarian. Kamaboko and katsuobushi both come from fish. For a temple-style table, make a separate bowl with konbu-shiitake dashi and yuba or mushrooms, and say plainly what you've made.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. The konbu can also soak overnight in the measured cold water for a rounder stock.
• •Kamaboko may be sliced a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Slice the scallions close to cooking so they stay sharp and green.
• •Do not assemble the bowl ahead. Rice, egg, and broth meet best at the last moment, while the rice is hot and the egg is still tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 625g)