It is shinmai (new harvest rice) season, when the freshest, best-tasting rice of the year becomes available. What better way to celebrate than with a steaming hot donburi, essentially a bowl of rice topped with something savory?

One of my favorite donburi is the classic chicken-and-egg combination called ¡°oyakodon,¡± which means ¡°parent and child bowl.¡± This dish combines tender morsels of chicken cooked in a savory-sweet broth that is soft set with eggs.

According to one theory, oyakodon got its start in the 1880s at a chicken sukiyaki restaurant in Tokyo called Tamahide. At the end of the meal, customers would mix the last bit of stewed chicken and vegetables with raw egg and call it ¡±oyako-ni.¡± A popular takeout meal, this eventually became oyakodon, though nowadays the dish is mostly served piping hot.