Oyako Udon — A Quick and Very Tasty Soup

“Oyako” in Japanese means, literally, “parent-child.” You have to love a language that describes a dish of chicken and egg this way. Oyako-donburi is a classic Japanese homestyle dish that sautes/braises chicken slices and some veggies in dashi, to which an egg is added, and the ensuing medley is served over hot rice. But why not make a parent-child soup with udon, especially if most of the ingredients are ready to go?

This was a fun, quick soup. I had roasted some chicken thighs the night before, so instead of just chucking the bones, after dinner I put them into a pot along with a carrot, water, and some bay leaves, and simmered it all, covered, for a few hours over very low heat. The resulting stock was rich yet light, and needed no defatting (thank god).

So the next day I just simmered a few sliced carrots, some leftover chicken, and chard leaves in the stock, cooked some udon (in a separate pot — udon throws off too much starch to be cooked IN the stock) and made a very tasty, very light lunch. The coup de grace was a perfect backyard egg (from neighbor Joy) cracked into it at the last moment, and some chopped chives. The silouette in the photo is Delia slurping hers down.

The lesson, if there is one: don’t throw away random chicken bones! Just chuck them in a small pot, fill with water and maybe some bay leaves and whatever vegetable you have, and simmer away till it reduces a bit. You’ll have a light and tasty broth for soup the next day.

I’ve been liking quick soups of late. Does anyone have any favorites they’d like to share?