My first expertise with gyudon was when Yoshinoya got here to China within the early 90s, and it quickly grew to become certainly one of my favourite choices for a fast lunch. Once I was dwelling in Japan throughout my grad college years, gyudon from Yuskiya was a pleasant indulgence after I didn’t wish to cook dinner at dwelling. That steaming bowl thinly sliced beef and onion simmered in a soy and mirin based mostly sauce over a mound of rice. It was filling, scrumptious, and low-cost. A lot in order that my mates and I typically grabbed a beef bowl to gasoline up earlier than an evening out (a sensible trick, since eating at izakayas was dear!). 

Years later, again dwelling, I nonetheless crave that very same cozy beef bowl. After loads of testing, I’ve perfected an genuine gyudon recipe that brings me proper again to Japan.

What’s gyudon

Gyudon (牛丼), typically translated as “beef bowl,” is a basic Japanese rice bowl dish. It consists of thinly sliced beef and onion simmered in a candy and savory broth after which served over a bowl of sizzling rice. A part of gyudon’s attraction is how fast and handy it’s. It’s primarily Japanese quick meals, beloved by college students and workplace staff alike for a speedy, filling meal. 

Components

The kind of beef to make use of

That is crucial a part of the dish that will help you obtain the restaurant-like outcome. If doable, choose essentially the most thinly sliced very fatty beef you possibly can. You could find this pre-sliced beef at giant Asian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese language markets. Relying on the shop, it may be bought as beef slices for shabu shabu, sukiyaki, or sizzling pot. 

My private favourite is the fatty ribeye slices from Chinese language markets. The paper skinny sliced meat is rolled up properly and normally bought frozen. The fats ratio might be wherever from 30% to 50%. Whenever you use this kind of reduce, the fats melts into the broth throughout cooking and the lean half turns into buttery tender. You merely gained’t get the identical impact utilizing thicker slices, or if the meat is just too lean. 

One other nice possibility is to get beef kiriotoshi, a mixture of lean and marbled meat typically bought at Japanese markets. It’s normally cheaper and also you may have the ability to discover very properly marbled ones which might be good for this dish.

That being mentioned, in case you should not have entry to any pre-sliced cuts, take a look at tips on how to slice meat for Japanese cooking by Simply One Cookbook.

Dashi Kombu

Dashi is a conventional ingredient utilized in gyudon so as to add a savory umami to the broth. In lots of recipes, common dashi (or prompt dashi) constituted of bonito flakes and kombu is often used. However I discovered this technique from my favourite Japanese chef Kasahara Masahiro (笠原将弘), utilizing solely kombu to create the dashi base through the braising course of. Since we’re already utilizing beef, we primarily create a beef kombu dashi that has a pleasant clear taste with out utilizing any fish elements.

Broth elements

The gyudon broth normally makes use of a default mixture of soy sauce, Japanese sake, mirin and sugar. And the ratio is 2:2:2:1. 

For the perfect outcome, I observe chef Kasahara’s suggestion to make use of usukuchi soy sauce, or Japanese gentle soy sauce. It’s lighter coloured than common soy sauce, with a saltier style. In comparison with Chinese language gentle soy sauce, it tastes much less salty and fewer intense. When you should not have this ingredient, use a daily Japanese soy sauce for the perfect outcome.

Additionally be sure you use high-quality sake that you just get pleasure from ingesting, as an alternative of cooking wine. It makes an enormous distinction when it comes to taste.

What kind of rice to make use of

Use brief grain (or generally labeled sushi rice within the US) for essentially the most genuine outcome. 

How one can make

Begin cooking by simmering the kombu and onion within the broth elements for 10 minutes. This course of makes dashi from the kombu and offers the onion an additional tender texture.

Then add the meat. Whereas including the thinly sliced beef, remember to unfold out every bit (I like to make use of a pair of chopsticks) so it doesn’t stick collectively or curl up. This ensures even cooking. Flip up the warmth to carry up the meat temperature till brown foam begins to indicate on prime of the broth. Skim off and discard the froth. Additionally, you will skim off a variety of fats throughout this course of, making the broth clearer.

Cowl and simmer for 8 minutes. After simmering coated, simmer uncovered for one more 7 minutes. The whole simmer time is quarter-hour, which could look longer than a number of the different on-line recipes. However I discovered that lengthy braising is one of the simplest ways to get the meat actually tender, the fats dissolved, and the meat actually soaks up the flavour of the dashi. 

Over the last a part of the simmering, I’d maintain skimming the fats from the highest. The final half additionally reduces the broth and makes it a bit extra concentrated. By the top of the braising, the broth ought to have diminished by about half, with the meat and onion tremendous tender.

How one can serve

To serve gyudon, add rice to every serving bowl, then add some beef and broth on prime. Relying on how a lot the broth has diminished and in your private choice, you possibly can alter the seasoning by including extra broth to your bowl. 

Topping choices

Gyudon is normally loved with pickled crimson ginger on prime as a default. Its tangy chew completely balances the savory-sweet beef. However when I’ve this dish in Japan, I really like that eating places typically provide many topping choices to personalize the bowl. Listed below are a few of my favorites:

• Pickled ginger: It’s virtually a must have, however since I don’t like meals dye, I used pure pickled ginger as an alternative of the pink one.
• Egg: Stirring a uncooked egg yolk, complete egg, or onsen tagamo (sizzling spring egg) into the rice creates an extremely wealthy, silky texture. 
• Scallion: It provides freshness and distinction to the bowl. 
• Shredded cheese: It was once my favourite topping! Thinly shredded cheese will soften instantly once you stir it into the piping sizzling beef rice, making a silky mouthfeel much like the impact of the eggs. If doable, use the thinnest shredded cheese you will discover, to hurry up the melting course of.
• Shichimi togarashi: Japanese seven spice provides some warmth to the dish. As a result of the blends typically additionally include orange peel, sesame seeds, sansho, seaweed, ginger, and poppy seeds, it provides zesty and savory umami that works effectively with the marginally candy dish.
• Kimchi: An alternative choice as an alternative of pickled ginger, so as to add a tangy distinction and a few warmth.

Make forward

Gyudon is a superb dish for meal prep or if you wish to make a much bigger batch for later. In Japan, it’s a dish that’s often utilized in bento containers. As a result of barely candy broth, the dish tastes actually good even when it’s at room temperature (in case you should not have a option to warmth it up).

This recipe makes use of gradual braising so you’re going to get a really flavorful bowl proper after cooking. However in case you let the meat sit within the broth for a few hours or in a single day, the flavour blends in additional and it’ll style even higher. 

Regularly requested questions

Different Japanese recipes you may get pleasure from

My gyudon recipe exhibits you all of the tricks to create a hearty Japanese beef rice bowl with tender beef and a savory candy broth filled with umami. It’s straightforward to place collectively and tastes even higher the subsequent day.

Cook dinner ModeForestall your display screen from going darkish

• Mix water, kombu, soy sauce, Japanese sake, mirin, sugar and onion. Cook dinner over medium warmth till bringing to a boil. Flip to medium-low warmth and simmer for 10 minutes, till onion has softened.

• Add the meat and grated ginger. Cook dinner over medium warmth till the broth is boiling once more. Skim off and discard any brown foam from prime, for two to three minutes, till no new foam is forming. Flip to medium-low warmth and simmer coated for 8 minutes. Then simmer uncovered for one more 7 minutes, till the broth has diminished by half. In the course of the simmering, you possibly can additional skim off any oil from the floor.(*Footnote 4) You’ll be able to serve the meat now. However it is going to be tastier in case you let the broth cool off a bit, so the meat soaks up the flavour extra.

• To serve, portion rice into every serving bowl. Add the meat with some broth. Garnish with pickled ginger and another toppings you favor. Take pleasure in as a important dish.

Ingredient Substitution Information

1. Japanese gentle soy sauce (Usukuchi soy sauce, 薄口) is the perfect. If not accessible, use common soy sauce.
2. The thinner and fattier the meat, the higher the outcome. I desire the kind of rolled up frozen sliced beef, normally labeled for warm pot or sukiyaki (normally discovered at Chinese language or giant Asian markets) as a result of it’s additional skinny and fatty. You may also discover sliced beef at Japanese and Korean markets. If none is on the market, take a look at tips on how to slice meat thinly by Simply One Cookbook.
3. For essentially the most genuine presentation, use crimson pickled ginger. I don’t like meals coloring personally so I used pickled ginger with out dyes.
   When you use a fatty reduce of beef, much like the one I used on this recipe, the meat will launch a variety of fats throughout cooking. I skimmed off about 1/3 cup fats through the cooking.

Serving: 1serving, Energy: 637kcal, Carbohydrates: 88.2g, Protein: 29.5g, Fats: 15.9g, Saturated Fats: 6g, Trans Fats: 0.4g, Ldl cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 1270mg, Fiber: 1.4g, Sugar: 18g

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