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1
Cook the short-grain rice and keep it hot in the pot. Spoon into a deep donburi bowl immediately before assembly; the rice must be steaming when the egg topping arrives. Cold rice renders the dish incorrect.
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2
Combine dashi, soy sauce, and mirin in the ratio 3:1:1 — 45 ml dashi, 15 ml soy sauce, 15 ml mirin per portion. Pour into a small individual pan (oyakodon pan or small frying pan). Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat until the liquid is fragrant and the mirin's sharpness has cooked off.
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3
For katsudon: add the sliced onion to the simmering sauce and cook until soft and translucent. Lay the sliced pre-fried katsu over the onion in a single layer. The sauce simmering step is not incidental — it warms the cutlet and integrates its crust with the sauce; a katsu cooked and served dry has missed the technique entirely.
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4
For oyakodon: add the sliced onion to the simmering sauce, then add the raw chicken. Simmer gently, turning once, until the chicken is just cooked through and the onion is soft. The sauce will deepen in color as the chicken releases its juices.
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5
This is where the dish lives or dies. Pour half the beaten egg in a slow spiral over the protein and onion. Swirl the pan gently once. Place the lid on for 10 seconds — the steam sets a loose structure. Remove the lid and pour the remaining beaten egg over the surface. Remove the pan from heat immediately. The egg must finish in residual heat alone: the correct result is barely set, still flowing, with a deep yellow color throughout. Gray, rubbery egg is the definitive failure.
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6
Tip the pan directly over the waiting bowl of hot rice, egg-side up, sliding the entire contents onto the rice in one motion. The flowing egg should drape over the protein and meet the rice at the bowl's edge. For oyakodon, scatter mitsuba over the surface. Serve immediately.