Donburi (˜¥, also romanized as domburi) is a general term for "bowl". However, it also popularly refers to a bowl of cooked rice with some other food served on top of it. There exist a variety of donburi dishes, differing in their toppings. Some of the most popular ones are listed below:
Oyakodon (Mother and Child Donburi)
The name of this popular donburi dish comes from its two main ingredients, chicken and egg. Rarely, you may also encounter an Oyakodon featuring salmon and ikura (salmon eggs), instead.
Katsudon (Pork Cutlet Donburi)
Katsudon is served with tonkatsu (deep fried breaded pork cutlet), egg and onions on top of the rice.
Kaisendon (Seafood Donburi)
Kaisendon are topped with a variety of fresh, mainly raw seafood. The selection depends on location and season, but often includes tuna (maguro), shrimps (ebi), salmon roe (ikura), sea urchin (uni) or crab (kani).
Gyudon, a bowl of cooked rice with beef, is very popular as an inexpensive type of fast food served at chain stores across the country.
Tendon (Tempura Donburi)
Tempura are deep fried pieces of battered seafood and vegetables. Various tempura pieces are dipped into a soya-based sauce before served on rice.
Unadon (Eel Donburi)
The eel is grilled and prepared in a thick soya-based sauce before served on top of the cooked rice.
Besides the donburi dishes introduced above, there exist many more varieties.
How to eat donburi
Donburi are usually eaten with chopsticks. In some cases a spoon may be provided. Donburi dishes are served at a variety of restaurants. Fast-food dishes cost around 500 yen, while ordinary donburi dishes will cost around 1000 yen. The cost of dishes with more expensive toppings, for example high-quality seafood, can be in the 2000 or 3000 yen range.
