Gyudon Recipe

Gyudon（牛丼）is a popular dish which was made even more popular by chains like Yoshinoya, Tsukiya and Matsuya, which make delicious Gyudon for very reasonable prices in Japan.  Gyu牛 means beef and don丼 means rice bowl (with something on top).  In other words, Beef Rice Bowl.  

Basic gyudon may be topped with beni-shoga (pickled ginger), sliced negi (shallots/spring onion) and is also delicious as Tsukimi Gyudon（月見牛丼）(with a raw egg on top) if you're feeling adventurous.
This recipe is adapted from the gyudon recipe by taka_jam on cookpad: http://cookpad.com/recipe/195791

Gyudon Recipe  serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiling water and 2 tsp Dashi powder
• 1-2 Onions, sliced
• 400g Beef, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Sake (optional)
• 1/3 cup Japanese Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh Ginger

• Steamed Rice and Beni-shoga, to serve.

Step 1

1. Place water, dashi powder and onions in a saucepan and boil 3 min.
2. Add sugar, sake, soy sauce, beef, and stir to combine well.  Bring to the boil and simmer 10min.
3. Stir in freshly grated ginger and simmer another 5-10 min until beef has absorbed the flavour, onions are caramelised and liquid is reduced to half.
4. Serve on a bowl of steamed rice and top with beni-shoga if desired.

Step 2



Step 3

Step 4

Tsukimi Gyudon: Crack a fresh egg on top for a more adventurous version (my favorite).  This adds a creamy element to the flavour, similar to sukiyaki.

Gyudon tips:

(At step three) One of the keys to perfect gyudon is cooking time.  If it is undercooked, the flavour hasn't developed enough and the onions are sharp.  If it is overcooked, the onions will become too soft and the flavour too strong.

For an Introduction to the Japanese Ingredients you see in this (or any) recipe, click here.