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1
Steam the rice until cooked through but fractionally firmer than standard. Keep hot in the pot, covered, until service. The grains should hold their shape under a finger's pressure without compressing entirely — they must absorb the sauce without becoming mushy.
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2
For each portion, combine 100 ml dashi, 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, and 1 tsp sugar in a small individual oyako-nabe or equivalent single-serving oval pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the sliced onion for that portion. Cook 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is fully soft and has begun to turn translucent and faintly sweet-smelling. The onion must be cooked through before any further addition.
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3
Lay the pre-sliced tonkatsu pieces over the onion in the pan, maintaining their assembled form. Allow the cutlet to warm through in the simmering sauce for 30–45 seconds. If the cutlet was not freshly cooked, it must reach sufficient warmth here to interact with the egg and sauce; a cold cutlet will stall the egg-set and flatten the dish.
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4
This is the step on which the dish lives or dies. Beat 2 eggs per portion until just combined — no need for full homogeneity. When the sauce has concentrated and the onions are fully soft, pour the beaten egg in a slow circular motion over the cutlet and onion, covering the surface evenly. Place the lid on immediately. Cook for exactly 30–40 seconds. The egg must be visibly set and opaque around the outer edges of the pan while the centre remains liquid and trembling. Remove from the heat at this precise moment; the centre will continue to set from the residual heat of the rice beneath.
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5
Portion the hot rice into four deep bowls. Slide the egg-and-cutlet mixture from the pan directly over the rice without delay — any pause on the heat will overcook the egg. The sauce will run down into the rice; this is correct. Finish each bowl with a pinch of togarashi and serve the beni-shoga alongside.