Beef and Egg Bowl (Tanindon)

1. Before You Start: For the steamed rice, please note that 1½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice, enough for 2 donburi servings (3⅓ cups, 500 g). See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
2. Gather all the ingredients. I usually put the thinly sliced beef in the freezer for 10 minutes because it‘s a lot easier to cut semi-frozen meat.

To Prepare the Ingredients

1. First, thinly slice ½ onion.
2. Cut 1 green onion/scallion into thin slices.
3. Next, crack and beat 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) in a small bowl.
4. Then, take out ½ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) from the freezer. Cut the sliced meat into pieces 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide.

To Cook the Tanindon

1. In a large frying pan (do not turn on the heat yet), add ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Mix to combine.
2. Next, add the onion slices and spread them throughout the pan, separating the onion layers.
3. Then, add the meat on top of the onions. Separate the thin slices of beef so the meat covers the onions.
4. Cover the pan with a lid and start cooking over medium heat.
5. When the meat is cooked, skim off the scum and fat from the broth with a fine-mesh skimmer. Turn down the heat to simmer and continue cooking, covered, for 3–4 minutes.
6. Slowly drizzle a thin stream of the beaten eggs over the simmering beef, placing your cooking chopsticks at the edge of the bowl with the eggs to control the flow. Do not mix the egg with the beef. Sprinkle the green onions on top and cook covered on medium-low heat until the egg is done to your liking (but don‘t overcook it). Usually, rice bowls with eggs in Japan are served while the egg is almost set but still runny. Remove from the heat.

To Serve

1. Divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into individual donburi rice bowls and put the beef and egg mixture on top. If you’d like, drizzle any remaining pan sauce on top. Top with pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga) and shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional). Enjoy!

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.