Japanese-Style Beef Bowl (Gyudon)

Japanese-Style Beef Bowl (Gyudon)

Japanese-Style Beef Bowl (Gyudon) is a home-style staple dish at difficulty 4/5 (Advanced), about 774 kcal. A classic Japanese home-style rice bowl, with sliced beef and white onion simmer. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.

Difficulty

4 / 5

★★★★☆

Advanced
Estimated Calories

774 kcal

Ingredients

  • ### Main ingredients
  • Onion (be sure to use an onion with white-yellow skin, not a purple onion)
  • Sliced fatty beef (hot pot beef rolls are fine, or you can use original-cut beef slices)
  • Scallion (or pre-cut scallion sections)
  • White sesame seeds
  • Mirin (a common Japanese seasoning, available on major e-commerce platforms, or substitute with cooking wine)
  • ### Secondary ingredients
  • Extra ingredients for garnish, optional
  • [Onsen egg](../../breakfast/温泉蛋/温泉蛋.md)
  • Dashi (a broth made from dried bonito flakes and kombu, used to add umami)

Steps

  1. ### 1. Ingredient preparation
  2. Peel the onion, remove the core, and cut into crescent shapes
  3. Wash the scallion and cut into 0.5cm small sections
  4. Heat a pan and add the white sesame seeds directly, **shake the pan back and forth** to heat the sesame evenly until *slightly golden brown*
  5. Blanch the sliced beef for 1 minute, then remove
  6. Mix 40g `mirin` (or 30g `cooking wine`), 30g `soy sauce`, 20g `oyster sauce`, 5g `sugar`, and 5g `dark soy sauce` (optional, for color) in a bowl to make the `seasoning` (you can place the bowl directly on a kitchen scale for this step)
  7. ### 2. Cooking process
  8. Heat oil in a pan, add the onion, and **stir-fry quickly** until the onion *turns translucent*
  9. Turn to low heat, add 250g water (or dashi), turn back to high heat and **wait 3 minutes**
  10. Add the beef and the `seasoning`
  11. **Keep stirring** all ingredients for **10 minutes** to prevent sticking to the pan
  12. Turn off the heat
  13. Serve the beef bowl over [rice](../米饭/电饭煲蒸米饭.md) (be sure to pour some of the sauce over the rice)
  14. Sprinkle with chopped scallion and white sesame seeds, and it's done.
  15. ### 3. Reheating after refrigeration
  16. Take out the portion of refrigerated beef bowl you want to eat each time, heat it up, and put it over [rice](../米饭/电饭煲蒸米饭.md).
  17. Microwave: 2-3 minutes on high for a single serving
  18. Pot: add an extra 50ml water, and **keep stirring** while heating

Notes

A classic Japanese home-style rice bowl, with sliced beef and white onion simmered in a savory-sweet sauce until flavorful. The meat is tender, the onion is sweet, and the sauce is rich. Beef provides high-quality protein and heme iron, while onion is rich in dietary fiber and various antioxidants. It's not too complicated to make; beginners can easily follow the steps, and the stir-frying and simmering process takes about 30 minutes.

Estimated cooking difficulty: ★★★★
Estimated calories: 774 kcal
Group: Japanese-Style Beef Bowl (Gyudon)

Calculation:
The amount of ingredients is proportional to the rice. The calculation here uses **one cup of rice (160ml)** as an example. This is about two servings. If you can't finish it, you can refrigerate it, but it may not taste as good.

- 1 onion
- 250g sliced fatty beef
- 1~2 scallions
- 5g white sesame seeds

```shell
struct Staple{float saltiness;};
struct Staple gyudon;
gyudon.saltiness = taste a spoonful of the sauce;
while(gyudon.saltiness < expected) add(1 g) soy sauce; gyudon.saltiness = taste a spoonful of the sauce;
```

### Notes

- If you're using fairly good beef, you can choose not to blanch it, which better preserves the beef's flavor. Because mirin is added, it won't be very gamey, so there's no need to worry about the beef being undercooked—10 minutes of heating will definitely cook it through.
- If available, add 15g `sake`.

### Flowchart

``` mermaid
graph TD
A[Prepare meat, onion, scallion, white sesame] --> B[Heat oil, stir-fry onion until cooked]
B --> C[Add water, simmer 3 minutes]
C --> D[Add beef and seasoning, simmer 10 minutes while stirring]
D --> E[Serve in a bowl, sprinkle with scallion and white sesame]
```

### Finished dish

### References

- [Heshui Yangyang Lab [Gyudon | Beef Bowl] The authentic way to make Yoshinoya beef bowl](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1rK4y1d7Fk)
- [Uncle Xia's Kitchen: A divine recipe ready in 60 seconds, delicious beef bowl that goes great with rice!](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1xu4y1676X)

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