Gyudon is Japanese fast food. It is incredibly delicious and protein-packed Japanese beef bowl. Sweet soy sauce flavoured thinly sliced beef served on top of plain steamed rice. I am going to share my quick and easy gyudon recipe.
What is Gyudon!?
Gyu means cow or refers to beef. Don is a short word for Donburi which is a large rice bowl. So Gyudon literally is Beef Bowl. Thinly sliced beef and onion cooked in sweet soy sauce then topped on delicious Japanese short grain rice. When the Japanese want a quick lunch or dinner they often go for Gyudon whereas western people go to McDonald’s and KFC. Because Gyudon is cheap, filling and fast.
Yoshinoya, Sukiya and Matsuya
So you will find those Gyudon fast food chain restaurants on every corner of Japan. okay, not “every corner”. Yoshinoya, Sukiya and Masuya are well-known food chain shops in Japan. There are many different version of Gyudon, some add egg into the sauce to cook or top with half boiled egg. At the shops, eggs are an add on in the menu. You can also choose the size of the bowls and you can get this delicious rice bowl as cheap as ￥290(about 2.60USD and 3.79AUD).
Where do you get thinly sliced beef?
Thinly sliced meat is very popular in Japan. It is difficult to find thinly sliced meat from a supermarket outside of Japan. When I need thinly sliced beef, I go to the local Japanese grocery stores or Korean grocery stores. If you don’t have any in your town, what you could do is to slice the beef when it is half frozen with a sharp knife. People ask me what type of cut I should buy. It really doesn’t matter at all. Just make sure it is thinly sliced because it tastes more flavoursome.
What is the red topping on the Gyudon?
Pickled ginger is the red topping on the Gyudon. Most people use pickled ginger to garnish the beef rice bowl. Now a quick Japanese lesson. Beni = red, and Shoga =ginger. Beni shoga is also an important ingredient of Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. So why is Beni shoga used as a topping? There are two main reasons:
- It cleans your palate with acidity and increases appetite. Gyudon usually has a strong and rich sweet savoury flavour. Eating pickled ginger refreshes your palate.
- For the presentation of the dish. Beef becomes brown when it is cooked. Furthermore, soy sauce is used to flavour the dish. This makes it even browner. All brown coloured food on a bed of rice does not look appetizing. The red pickled ginger looks great on top of the dish.
So I hope you liked my super fast recipe for Japanese fast food “Gyudon”. You can make this delicious authentic Japanese rice bowl dish at your home! Why? Because it is easy peasy Japaneasy. And if you liked the Yoshinoya or Sukiya style Gyudon beef bowl, Please rate the recipe and comment below.
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Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowls
Ingredients
- 150 g thinly sliced beef
- 1/2 onion
- 1 tbsp red pickled ginger for topping
- 1 tbsp diagonally and thinly sliced scallion for topping
- 3 cups cooked Japanese rice *1
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Sauce
- 200 ml water
- 1 tsp dashi powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp ginger juice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Slice the onion into wedges.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion.
- Once the onion becomes translucent, add all the sauce ingredients.
- Bring it to simmer and add thinly sliced beef and cook about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Once the beef has cooked and the sauce has reduced a bit, remove from the heat.
- Serve over a bowl of rice and garnish with scallions and red ginger pickles.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for all the lovely recipes! I notice you use olive oil in this one. I’m curious if you think it affects the flavor at all and if using another oil (vegetable oil?) would give a more authentic flavor?
You are good observer Bethany 😀 Yes I use olive oil but in Japan I would have used canola oil but in terms of flavour I have not notice much difference.
Getting the beef in the states is actually quite easy. Any grocery store with a butcher counter or a butcher shop will slice it for you free of charge. You want a chuck roast or something similar with marbled fat (also one of the cheaper cuts of meat), and simply ask them to slice it on the thinnest setting, or “philly cheesesteak style”. Boom, perfect meat. Also, if you don’t want to cook it all at once, lay the slices between sheets of wax paper, stack, and freeze in a ziplock. That way thawing is a breeze. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for sharing the information. That helps a lots of readers of Chopstick Chronicles 😀 Thank you!!
My husband was so surprised when I made him these beef bowls for dinner. He loved them!
I am glad that your husband liked Gyudon 😀 Thank you Renee!
We made this for dinner last night and my family loved it! It was easy, and delicious! We will definitely be enjoying this again!
That’s wonderful! Thank you Jennifer 😀
Loved trying something new at our house and made an event of it! Slightly froze the beef and was able to thinly slice. Yay!
That’s fantastic! Thank you Marjory 😀
I love the taste of the fresh ginger. Soon to be a “go-to” recipe in our house.
Thank you Patti 😀
My husband loved this! He loves trying new recipes and he is still talking about this one so I’m sure we’ll be making these bowls again! Yum!
Ohhhh Thank you Meagen 😀
You had me at protein packed. With growing teens, protein is the magic word in our house. Can’t wait to make this!
Thank you Sandi 😀 I am sure your teens will love this!
This dish sounds amazing! I love the sweetness of the soy sauce combined with the savory flavor of the beef. This is one dish I could eat daily.
Thank you Jacquelyn 😀
This beef bowl looks so amazing! We will definitely be enjoying this easy recipe soon! My girls love pickled ginger, and I can see us all enjoying this so much!
Thank you Jenni, hope your family will love this when you make 😀
Love the tip for getting perfectly thin slices! This beef bowl is so delish!
Thank you Wilhelmina 😀
I just made this for dinner tonight it was really delicious.
Easy to cook but full flavour of beef and ginger.
Thank u for sharing wonderful recipe.
You are welcome Su, Thank you for making this dish with the recipe and 5 star rating 😀
love how easy and delicious this dish is, so excited to try it!
Thank you Shadi 😀
i love it thank you for sharing!
no problem, thank you 🙂
hi Shihoko
My husband loves gyudon I’m going to try your recipe 🙂
Do you know what cut of beef is suitable for this dish? I’m planning to freeze and slice thinly, hopefully it works, otherwise my husband can have beef chunks hehe
thank you in advance
Hi Su, any cut. In Japan we don’t really know what cut they are because they are all thinly sliced already. And usually cheap cut is used for Gyudon. You can go for expensive one of course 😀
I love this, Shihoko! The tender and flavorful beef on top of steamy rice is such a tease!
Thank you Katherine 😀 Me too. It is so good for winter now in Australia <3
I love dishes like this really simple but packed full of flavour, such a shame that beef suitable for this is such a challenge to find over here 🙁
SO delicious! My husband would devour this!
Thank you Tracy:D
I love the beef bowls from Yoshinoya here in the States and was so sad I didn’t find a Yoshinoya when I was in Japan a few years ago. haha! I did love all the foods I ate while there, though. I will definitely be trying this recipe, thank you!
Thank you Sarah, Yoshinoya bankrupt while ago in Japan but now they are back again 😀
Yummy. I too like thinly sliced beef but don’t find it here too easily. Everyone wants a chunk. I love the idea of cutting your own while it’s half way frozen. Much easier
Thank you Renz, yes it is hard to find here in Australia too and if you don’t have an electric slicer like a shop, it is very hard to cut thinly but if you freeze it, you can 😀