The Best Easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl 牛めし（牛丼）
Easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl is so comforting and delicious! Sweet tender onion, beef slices and sweet savoury sauce are marriage in heaven.
Gyudon is a classic staple dish in Japanese cuisine. Gyudon is one of the most popular dishes at Yoshinoya (吉野家公式ホームページ) and Matsuya Food (松屋フーズ) in Japan. I always love to go to Matsya food when I visit Japan, the price is very affordable there and the food is always amazing! Yoshinoya, on the other hand, is the one I went to when I was in Hong Kong. The food was great and my wallet didn’t mind it too much.
I have heard there are other options in Hong Kong now. I haven’t been back for a few years and I hope the travel restrictions will be lifted soon so I can visit home.
Don is an abbreviation of Donburi, which literally means rice bowl. It is a Japanese “rice-bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice.
Gyūdon (牛丼, “beef bowl”), also known as gyūmeshi (牛飯 or 牛めし, “beef [and] rice”), is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavoured with dashi (fish and seaweed stock), soy sauce and mirin (sweet rice wine). It may sometimes also be served with toppings such as raw or soft poached eggs, Welsh onions (negi), grated cheese or kimchi. A popular food in Japan, it is commonly eaten with beni shōga (pickled ginger), shichimi (ground chilli pepper), and a side dish of miso soup. (Wikipedia)
Gyudon is one of my lazy mid-week dishes that we absolutely love! Some people like to serve it with a poached egg but I was exhausted after work and pan-fry a sunny-side-up egg is a lot easier! We just need the runny yolk here to be the sauce of the rice dish.
If you like Japanese cuisine, I have also shared some other Japanese recipes such as tonkatsu – Japanese pork cutlet. bento box, deep-fried shrimps etc. if you want to check them out!
What ingredients do you need for this easy Gyudon Japanese Beef bowl?
- good quality sliced beef
- onion
- ebara gyudon sauce
- cooking sake – optional
- Rice
- an egg – optional
- roasted sesame for garnish
- Chopped green onion for garnish
How to make this Easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl?
Heat an oiled frying pan
Sautee onion until slightly golden brown, then pour in sake, and cook for 30 seconds until the alcohol is evaporated.
Meanwhile, mix the ebara gyudon sauce with water under the instruction of the packing. Mine said 1 part sauce + 2 parts of water
Pour the sauce into the pan, bring it to boil, then put all the beef in, and stir occasionally until cooked.
Heat another oiled pan and pan-fry the egg sunny side up
Serve immediately when warm.
Garnish with roasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion.
Enjoy this easy gyudon Japanese beef bowl with your loved ones!
What kind of meat is in this easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl?
Any type of beef that is thinly sliced works for this recipe. I usually get the ones for shabu-shabu( hotpot) in a local Asian supermarket or Korean supermarket.
You will be able to find really good ones in a Japanese supermarket but honestly, any type will work. The most important thing is not to overcook the meat or you will get the chewy and unpleasant texture of the beef.
What is the sauce made of in this easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl?
If you can’t find ebara gyudon sauce in your area, you can make the sauce yourself:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp dashi powder
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 50 ml water
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The Best Easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat an oiled fry pan, sautee onion until slightly golden brown, then pour in sake, and cook for 30 seconds until the alcohol is evaporated.
- Pour the sauce into the pan, bring it to boil, then put all the beef in, and stir occasionally until cooked.
- Mix the sauce according to the instrcution on the bottle. Set it aside.
- Heat another oiled pan and pan-fry the egg sunny side up.
- Serve immediately when It is still warm.
- Garnish with roasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
Video
Nutrition
Enjoy this Easy Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl with your loved ones!
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