Do you ever want to show off your cooking and flavour skills, without too much faff and prep or complex techniques? If yes, let me introduce you to the life-saving meal that is, Donburi.

What is so great about it? Rice. Protein. Veg. Seasoning. That’s it! You are done. How is it impressive for my next dinner party I hear you cry? Well take a look at this picture and consider your question answered…

I need to issue a warning here though. When you make this, Wagamama will be ruined for you because you will be able to create a Donburi dinner just as delicious (if not more so because you can truly customise it), for a fraction of the price.

OK OK, calm down! I’ll tell you how. I think we can largely agree that the thing that makes this dinner impressive is a) the presentation and b) that unctuous golden egg yolk. So lets start with the presentation because honestly, it is simple and something you (and I) will get better and better at.

Essentially all we are doing is cooking steak (in this case), slicing it thin and laying it over a pile of rice. To get a neat pile of sticky rice, I used a cup measurer, but anything would work like a ramekin or small bowl. Then you can play. Drape and overlap the thin steak slices over the rice leaving a small amount of room on top for that yolk. If cooking your steak to perfection is your biggest challenge then invest in a meat thermometer. They are £20 max for a battery probe one but I really recommend you look at a Meater if you are a true fan of cooking. No commission I promise, I just adore mine.

So now, this egg yolk. Get yourself quality eggs, the richer and more golden the yolk, the more ‘ooooos’ you will get at the dinner table. Plus, happy hens are tasty hens. The ones in our picture are Clarence Court. Right, crack an egg and separate the yolk from the egg whites (I use my leftovers for breakfast the next day, #nowaste). Now you can place a good quality egg yolk right there with no cure, but I like to give mine an hour or two in a combination of Soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil. The final key to this dish is season, season, season. Season the rice with a mix of sugar and rice wine vinegar (think sushi rice vibes). Season the steak before and after cooking. Season the egg yolk (either with the above cure, or just some Maldon on a ‘raw’ one). I then pour the curing liquid from the egg yolks around the base so it soaks into the rice and surrounding veggies.

This took as long as rice takes to cook but tasted off the charts so I will 100% be making this again for my wife, and for a dinner party soon. Maybe ill be even fancier and go for some cured salmon and a quail’s egg. Ooooooo-eeeer right? Play, enjoy and eat well!

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