Gyudon

Simple but delicious, this Gyudon recipe features thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a sweet and savoury sauce that comes together in minutes. It’s beyond easy to make and is the perfect busy weeknight meal or meal prep!

If you need a quick and easy protein-packed meal, then you need to make this gyudon recipe. Gyudon is a famous donburi dish that is packed with beef cooked in a sweet, salty, and savoury sauce. I love how simple it is and how you really can’t go wrong with it. It’s meant to be a quick dish as there are even fast-food chains specializing in the gyudon in Japan.

 

Gyudon translates to beef (gyu) and bowl (don), so it is essentially a Japanese beef bowl served over rice. Gyudon is sometimes served with a side of an egg or cooked with some eggs, but it’s up to your own preferences.

Why You’ll Love This Japanese Beef Bowl

• I use pre-sliced frozen shabushabu meat to make this recipe more convenient. Traditionally, chuck or rib eye beef is used and you can find thinly sliced ones in Japanese grocery stores. You can also slice your own beef but that will add to your prep time.
• It doesn’t take a lot of effort to cook. Simply saute everything together then let it simmer in a sauce.
• It packs really well and reheats wonderfully. I usually spoon as much sauce as possible into my meal prep containers so when I reheat the dish, the liquid helps keep the beef and rice from drying out.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• dried bonito — I use hondashi and it packs the sauce full of umami.
• light soy sauce — I prefer light soy sauce for the soup, but you can use regular or low sodium soy sauce.
• mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey.
• sugar — this adds a little sweetness to the sauce.
• oil — use whatever oil you prefer. I usually use olive oil.
• onion — use your favourite onion! I use a small yellow onion or sweet onion.
• beef — like I mentioned above, I use frozen shabushabu meat (pictured above is beef blade), but you can thinly slice chuck or rib eye. Sliced beef sold for Philly cheesesteak will work as well.
• rice — I serve mine with jasmine rice but if you have Japanese short-grain rice, use that instead.

How to Make Gyudon

• In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together 1 cup of water with the hondashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Set aside.
• In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and sliced onion. Saute until the onions have softened, about 3 minutes.

• Add the beef to the skillet and saute until 70% to 80% cooked through.

• To the skillet, add the liquid to the skillet lower the heat.
• Simmer until the liquid has cooked down, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt if needed.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• I don’t add salt immediately to the gyudon as the hondashi and soy sauce is already salty. It’s difficult to fix a salty gyudon so it’s easier to just add salt later.
• If you are slicing your own beef, I recommend freezing the steak for 10 to 20 minutes so you can easily slice the beef thinly.
• Mushrooms are a great addition to the dish! I always add some whenever I have some on hand.
• If your beef is not frozen, you can take a minute or two off the saute time. Since it doesn’t make a lot of difference, I don’t bother to thaw the beef before cooking with it. As it’s so thin, it cooks through without being tough.
• Freshly grated ginger in the sauce makes for a great addition as well.

Make Ahead Tips

More Japanese Recipes To Try

• Japanese Corn Rice
• Hibachi Chicken
• Hibachi Shrimp
• Curry Udon
• Tempura Udon
• Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
• Yaki Udon
• Japanese Fried Rice (Yakimeshi)
• Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich
• Soy Sauce Eggs

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