I would like to share a recipe for Oyakodon. Oyakodon is a delicious Japanese rice bowl dish made with chicken, onions, and eggs.

I chose this dish because it is delicious but easy to make at home and the meaning of name.
“Oya”: This word means “parent” or “parent and child.” “Don”: This word refers to a bowl or a dish served over rice, commonly used in Japanese cuisine.
Therefore, “Oyakodon” can be translated as “Parent and Child Bowl,” reflecting its key ingredients of chicken and eggs, symbolizing the relationship between a parent and child. It’s a delicious Japanese dish with a name that carries a meaningful connection to family.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), cut into bite- sized pieces
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2-3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
• 1 tablespoon sake (Japanese rice wine)
• 1/2 cup dashi stock
• Cooked rice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Chopped green onions for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a pan, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, dasi stock and sugar. Bring this mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Add the sliced onions to the simmering sauce and cook until they become tender and translucent.
3. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and cook until they are no longer pink in the center.
4. In a bowl, beat the eggs gently. Pour the beaten eggs evenly over the chicken and onions in the pan.Cover the pan and let the eggs cook until they are just set. This should only take a minute or so; be careful not to overcook them.
5. Cover the pan and let the eggs cook until they are just set. This should only take a minute or so; be careful not to overcook them.
6. Once the eggs are set, remove the pan from the heat. Serve your Oyakodon over a bowl of cooked Japanese rice. Garnish with chopped green onions if desired.

I hope Wortley villagers can enjoy homemade Oyakodon! It’s a comforting and savory Japanese dish that’s easy to make at home.
OR come on in to MORI. We’ll have it on the menu some days!

MORI

Jinju Lee and her husband own Roll Roll, a favourite local sushi take-out located at Wortley and Bruce Streets. They recently opened Mori, a Japanese restaurant and bar at 147 Wortley Road with indoor and outdoor seating, where guests can enjoy a wide selection of appetizers and main dishes, such as salmon truffle and kushikatsu, and Japanese cocktails, beer and sake. ‘

Mori’ means ‘Forest’ in Japanese, and the restaurant was named in honour of London – the Forest City.

Mori is open Tuesday to Thursday noon until 10 pm and Friday and Saturday from noon until 11 pm. No reservations – it’s first come, first served. Coming soon: order online through UberEats and DoorDash.

Learn more at moricanada.com

Wortley Villager October 2023 Page 11

Lee, who hails from Korea, fell in love with the community’s charm when she moved to London from Toronto with her husband. In 2018, they opened Roll Roll, a sushi restaurant at 162 Wortley Rd. that fast became a mainstay in the Old South neighbourhood.

“At the beginning, I didn’t know anything about the village,” Lee said, adding she was attracted to its friendly feel.
“It’s not common in Toronto. Even if you say hello to somebody, they don’t always say it back.”
In search of a larger space with communal dining, Lee toyed with the idea of opening a second business elsewhere in London. But the waiting game paid off.
Her new Japanese bar and restaurant, Mori, opened its doors last week at 147 Wortley Rd., just down the road from Roll Roll, and had its grand opening on Canada Day.
Unlike the sushi joint, Mori has a bar with outdoor and in-person dining. “That one is takeout and cold food, and this one has dining, drinking and hot food,” Lee said.
The licensed bar and restaurant offers a wide selection of appetizers and main dishes, such as salmon truffle and kushikatsu, a popular Japanese dish of deep-fried meat and vegetables on skewers. The drinks menu features Japanese cocktails, beer and sake, a rice wine.
Lee’s grandmother ran a business in Tokyo, Japan, for several years, and some of her family members still reside there. Her husband, a chef, also is Korean but lived in Japan for some time and has long admired its cuisine.

The pair wanted to make the restaurant feel as authentic as possible. Even the tiniest of details – from its ingredients to its dishes and decorations – are from Japan, Lee said.
“I want customers to feel like they’re in Japan.”
Wortley Village’s restaurant scene has seen some change during the years. Nestled between the Old South Village Pub and Wolfe Pack Company Bar, the space where Mori now sits used to house multiple eateries owned by London restaurateurs Justin and Gregg Wolfe including El Poco Lobo, the Little Bird and Wolfe of Wortley.
To run Mori, Lee has expanded her team of staff from four to 14 people. She credits her company’s success entirely to longtime customers.
“I feel like I’m rich because I have so many valued customers,” she said with a smile.

Even the restaurant’s name, Mori, which translates to forest in Japanese, is a gesture of gratitude and a nod to the Forest City.
“I just want to show our customers appreciation,” Lee said.
Enter Doug More, a longtime customer who lives doors down from Roll Roll. He goes as far as to say it has “the best sushi in the world.”“Even throughout the pandemic, because of pick-up only … there’d be people lined up (and) down the road,” he said.
Based on that, More has no doubt the new eatery will be a boon for the neighbourhood. “We need a good quality restaurant like this.”
Mori is open from noon to 10 p.m. from Tuesday through Thursday and from noon to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday and Monday are closed.

cleon@postmedia.com
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