Bibai no Torimeshi

A plain, unadorned dish of chicken and onion simmered right into the rice. The seasoning is just soy sauce, sugar, and sake — nothing more — so the savor of the chicken stock comes through unmasked. The finished rice grains are said to glisten amber, releasing more chicken flavor and a faint toastiness with every bite. Every household uses roughly the same ingredients, yet the balance of seasoning differs from kitchen to kitchen — a home-cooked dish measured by feel.

Chicken thigh and breast are pan-fried in oil, seasoned, then simmered briefly with onion so it keeps some crunch. The solids are strained from the broth, and the broth goes into a rice cooker with butter and rice; once it's cooked, the chicken and onion are folded back into the finished rice. The meat is a small share against the rice, and that restraint is said to be exactly what lets the chicken stock carry the dish. In some areas, it is said to be eaten alongside a bowl of ramen.

During the Meiji-era settlement of Hokkaido, a farm owner who had taken up land in the Nakamura district of Bibai is said to have given tenant farmers pairs of chickens to raise, worried about their livelihood before the rice paddies came into their own. Once rice finally came in, he is said to have slaughtered the chickens he kept and served this rice dish to welcome guests. Local women in Nakamura still carry the tradition on, cooking the dish fresh each morning.