Gyudon (Japanese Beef Rice Bowl)

Before You Start...

1. For the steamed rice, please note that 1½ cups (2 rice cooker cups, 300 g) 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. Next, cut 1 green onion/scallion diagonally into thin slices. Set aside.
3. Then, remove ½ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) from the freezer. Cut the semi-frozen meat into pieces 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide.
4. In a large frying pan (do not turn on the heat yet), add ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Stir to combine and dissolve the sugar.
5. Next, add the onion slices and spread them in the broth throughout the pan, separating the onion layers.
6. Then, distribute the meat on top of the onions. Separate the thin slices of beef so the meat covers the onions.

To Cook

1. Cover the pan with a lid. Now, turn on the heat to medium and start cooking. Once simmering, turn down the heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 3–4 minutes.
2. While simmering, open the lid and skim off the scum and fat from the broth with a fine-mesh skimmer one to two times.
3. Sprinkle the green onions on top and cook covered for another minute. Optional: If you would like to add beaten eggs, you can do it now (refer to my Tanindon recipe for detailed instructions).

To Serve

1. Divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into large donburi bowls. Then, drizzle some of the pan sauce on top of the rice.
2. Put the beef and onion mixture on top of the rice. If you’d like, drizzle additional remaining sauce on top. Top the gyudon with pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga). Enjoy!

To Store

1. You can keep any leftover beef and egg mixture in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days and in the freezer for up to 3–4 weeks.