Japanese Gyudon Beef and Rice Bowl
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Thinly sliced beefiness and tender onions cooked in savory-sweet sauce, Gyudon, or Japanese Beef Rice Bowl, is synonymous with comfort. It has been a staple in Japanese cuisine for over 150 years! It'south a perfect quick meal for a busy weeknight!
Gyudon (牛丼) is classic comfort food that has had its identify in Japanese cuisine for over 150 years. Non only is this hearty rice bowl extremely simple to put together, but it'due south also famous for beingness a quick, nutritious meal that never fails to satisfy.
While every household in Japan makes gyudon a piffling different, the core ingredients remain the same: thin slices of beef, onion, and sweet and savory sauce served over steamed rice. Today, I'll show you how I make this weeknight favorite at home.
What is Gyudon (Japanese Beef Bowl)?
Like other donburi, Gyudon, or Japanese Beefiness Bowl, is always served over a warm bowl of freshly steamed rice. "Gyu" (牛) translates to "beef" while "Don" (丼) refers to the type of bowl it's served in.
History of Gyudon in Japan
The gyudon that we know and dearest today actually originated from a beef hot pot dish called "gyunabe" (牛鍋) during Japan'southward Meiji Era (1868-1912). Up until this point, Japanese people were strictly prohibited from eating beef for both religious and practical reasons. Consuming meat went against Buddhist philosophies, and eating farm animals that were useful for piece of work was largely discouraged.
Once Western culture was introduced to Japan in the late 19th century, gyunabe—beef and onion stewed with miso paste—became extremely pop. Plain, the chef of an izakaya called Isekuma in my hometown of Yokohama was the outset person to serve gyunabe in 1862! People began pouring their leftover gyunabe broth over rice, and soon restaurants began to serve this equally a cheaper alternative called "gyumeshi" (牛飯).
The proper noun "gyudon" was finally coined by Eikichi Matsuda in the belatedly 1800s. Matsuda is the owner of Japan'southward nigh famous Tokyo-based, beef bowl chain, Yoshinoya. If you lot want to make gyudon merely like they practice at Yoshinoya, I have a recipe here.
How to Make Gyudon
Ingredients Y'all'll Demand
Gyudon in Japan is known to be a quick, tasty meal that is too cheap. Information technology was almost popular amid business people and young, single men before reaching the general Japanese public. The ingredients to make this ane-pot dish at habitation are uncomplicated.
- Thinly sliced beef: For this recipe, I recommend chuck or rib eye. The paper-thin slices are essential for achieving authentic gyudon (too thick, and your beefiness will be chewy), and you tin can ofttimes discover packages of thin-cut beef at Japanese or Asian supermarkets. Alternatively, yous can always slice your own.
- Onion: Sliced onions requite sweetness to the dish and are a perfect pair with tender beef.
- Sauce: The sauce is a complementary balance of sweet and savory, made with dashi (Japanese soup stock), sake, mirin, soy sauce, and saccharide. So uncomplicated and highly constructive in creating robust flavour!
- Garnish: green onions for the color and shichimi togarashi for a spicy kick.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Cut the onion, dark-green onions, and beef.
- Put the sauce ingredients, sliced onions, and beef in a large frying pan and start cooking.
- Serve the simmered beef and onion over steamed rice in big bowls.
v Tips to Make Delicious Gyudon
- Thinly slice the onion so it volition become tender and sweeter quickly. When the onion is cooked, it imparts a natural sweetness to the dish.
- Use skilful quality beef. Well-marbled beef will never get chewy after being simmered in the sauce. I highly recommend ribeye for gyudon. It'south also easy to thinly piece your own meat. For well-marbled beef, information technology's easier to wink freeze and cut the semi-frozen meat.
- Make extra dashi (Japanese soup stock) then yous tin use it for gyudon and miso soup to go with the meal. I recommend making dashi either from scratch or with a dashi package.
- Melt more rice than usual. Rice bowl dishes (or what we call "donburi") typically serve more rice per person to go with the food on top of the rice. Therefore, ready a fiddling bit more usual. I always make 1½ rice cooker cups for ii servings and 3 rice cooker cups for 4 servings.
- Don't overcook the beef, especially if your meat is non well-marbled. Y'all don't want chewy meat. Every bit soon as the beef is no longer pinkish, you lot should terminate cooking. If your meat is well-marbled, you can let information technology simmer slightly longer then the meat absorbs more flavors from the sauce.
Pop Gyudon Variations
1. Gyudon with Eggs
In Japan, gyudon is occasionally served with eggs. Generally, there are three variations (each comes with a different name).
- Tsukimi Gyudon (お月見牛丼) – A raw egg yolk is placed in the center of the simmered beef.
- Gyudon with Onsen Tamago (温玉のせ牛丼)- A poached egg is placed in the center of the simmered beef.
For the ii variations of gyudon above, when you're ready to eat, suspension the yolk and mix it into the beef and onions to add together a layer of richness to the meal.
- Tanindon (他人丼) or Gyutojidon (牛とじ丼) – Right before finish cooking, drizzle beaten eggs over the simmered beef and melt covered until eggs are just set (In Japan, eggs are served slightly more runny).
The final option is probably the safest option as you can control the doneness of the eggs. This method adds a nice layer of fluffy egg to the beef mixture. You can read more well-nigh information technology in my Tanindon (Beefiness and Egg Rice Basin) mail.
2. Kansai Sukiyaki-Fashion Gyudon (My Original Gyudon Recipe from 2011)
If y'all're a long-time JOC fan, you lot're familiar with this image (above) and my gyudon recipe that I originally shared in 2011.
This is how my grandma and mother fabricated their gyudon. Since they are from the Kansai surface area (my grandma was from Nara and moved to Osaka where my mom was raised), they cooked gyudon similar to how they made their Kansai-style sukiyaki. The signature is to sprinkle sugar on the beefiness while it's still raw and cook the meat first before simmering with other seasonings.
Dissimilar the Kanto-manner gyudon where beef and onion are simmered in dashi (Japanese soup goop), Kansai-style gyudon does non always require dashi and cook with the seasonings only, so the season is more than intense.
Unfortunately, my grandma and mom's gyudon is not technically the simple version of "gyudon" that people are looking for, I've decided to update this postal service with a more standard gyudon recipe.
So, if you would similar to make my Gyudon recipe from 2011, or Kansai Sukiyaki-Fashion Gyudon, use my gyudon recipe below, but but skip the dashi. Here are the 5 quick steps:
- Stir fry onions with a tablespoon of oil (not listed in the recipe) until tender.
- Add beef and sugar (utilize the same amount equally specified in the recipe) and rapidly stir to combine.
- Add together sake, mirin, and soy sauce (again, use the same amount in the recipe) and cook until the meat is no longer pinkish.
- Optionally, slowly drizzle a thin stream of the beaten eggs over the beefiness (Do non mix the egg with the beef) and add together the green onions on acme. Cook covered on medium-depression oestrus until the egg is about prepare or done to your liking (just don't overcook it).
- Serve over steamed rice, and enjoy!
Other Popular Japanese Rice Bowls (Donburi) Y'all'll Enjoy:
- Oyakodon (Chicken & Egg Basin)
- Eggplant Unagi Donburi
- Craven Katsudon (Chicken Cutlet Rice Basin)
- Soboro Don (Ground Craven Bowl)
- Poke Bowl
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Gyudon (Japanese Beefiness Rice Basin)
Thinly sliced beef and tender onions simmered in a savory-sweetness sauce, Gyudon is synonymous with comfort. Information technology has been a staple in Japanese cuisine for over 150 years!
Servings: two
Prevent your screen from going dark
- ½ onion (4 oz, 113 g)
- one greenish onions/scallions
- ½ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or rib centre) (you tin can also slice your ain meat)
Japanese Ingredient Exchange: If y'all want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Gather all the ingredients. I normally put the thinly sliced beefiness in the freezer for 10 minutes because it's a lot easier to cut semi-frozen meat.
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First, thinly slice the onion.
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Next, cutting the dark-green onions diagonally into thin slices.
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Then, take out the meat from the freezer. Cutting the sliced meat into pieces 3 inches (7.six cm) wide.
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In a big frying pan (do not turn on the heat yet), add the dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Mix to combine.
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Next, add the onion slices and spread them throughout the pan, separating the onion layers.
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Then, add the meat on top of the onions. Separate the thin slices of beefiness and so the meat covers the onions.
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Cover the pan with a hat and start cooking over medium oestrus.
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When the meat is cooked, skim off the scum and fat from the broth with a fine-mesh skimmer. Reject the heat to simmer and continue cooking, covered, for 3-4 minutes.
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Sprinkle the green onions on pinnacle and cook covered for another infinitesimal. If yous like to add browbeaten eggs, you lot tin add together at this step (or refer to my Tanindon recipe).
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In a large donburi bowl, add the steamed rice and drizzle the remaining sauce on top.
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Put the beef and onion mixture on summit. If you'd like, drizzle the remaining sauce on superlative. Top with the pickled ruby ginger. Bask!
To Shop
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You can keep any leftover beef and egg mixture in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two-3 days, and in the freezer for up to iii-4 weeks
Calories: 453 kcal · Carbohydrates: 41 1000 · Protein: 27 grand · Fat: 16 grand · Saturated Fat: 7 grand · Polyunsaturated Fatty: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fatty: viii g · Cholesterol: 69 mg · Sodium: 1072 mg · Potassium: 432 mg · Fiber: 1 chiliad · Sugar: 10 g · Vitamin A: 23 IU · Vitamin C: 4 mg · Calcium: 24 mg · Iron: 4 mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: beefiness, donburi, rice bowl
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Editor'south Annotation: The post was originally published on Jan 13, 2011. The content and images were updated and the recipe was revised on April 17, 2022.
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