Japan – Yoshinoya Beef Rice Bowl (Gyudon)

by Zayna Khan

This dish is a proper bowl of all elements like strips of beef with steamed rice and topped with vegetables with sometimes a fried egg. This is the very rich meal you have protein in the form of meat in this one dish, carbohydrates, egg for fats and protein, vegetables for nutrients and vitamins. This is very simple to cook but having 3 to 4 elements in one bowl. It is a dish in which sauces like mirin, sake, soya sauce, and vinegar are added. Tendered and caramelized onions are also added to this dish. You also can add additional preferences like noodles, broth, any seafood, etc.

This is said as Japanese comfort food for at least 150 years. It can never go wrong on any occasions, parties, get together, meet up, etc. This is healthy and easy to cook with few elements but the healthy stuff.

This combination of dry cooked beef strips, crunchy vegetables, steamed rice, and a fried egg or you can have boiled egg on the top. This makes you feel healthy and full of nutrients throughout the day. There are different toppings made to make it fancier like kimchi, poached egg, Welsh onions, Beni shoga, etc.

There are many alternative names for the same like :

• Beef bowl
• Beef rice bowl
• Gyudon
• Yoshinoya beef bowl
• Gyumeshi
• Rice mixed bowl, etc.

ORIGIN OF THE DISH

Gyudon is originally originated from the dish Gyunbae. This dish is Beef hot pot at the times of KANTO REGION, in Japan.

Welsh onions, Miso, Warishita, and Konjac are added to the bowl of beef, and cook these things together along with rice and then serve. This was more like the thick rice soup with beef in it. But after the evolution and time passed, they started cooking elements separately and then assemble it into the bowl.

Nowadays, this is special bowl of beef and rice with different toppings like SUKIYAKI TOPPINGS

• Tofu
• Shirataki
• Miso
• Dashi
• Welsh onions

Addition of different ingredients into this dish

RICE

Steamed is very famous in Japan with beef strips like HAYASHI RICE. That is beef curry with steamed rice. So in this dish, steamed rice is the best option to serve with all the other exotic flavors. Sometimes, fried rice is also be served but it totally depends on the personal choice and preference.

JAPANESE SHORT GRAIN RICE is the best rice to eat with beef.

BEEF

Thin beef slices are cooked and then served over the rice platter, or bowl. You must have thin slices of beef, if you want authentic beef slices, go with paper-thin beef slices. They are easier to eat and give the exact authenticity of an old tradition. Thick beef chunky slices make it chewy and not appropriate for this dish.

The good cut for this meal is CHUCK or RIB EYE.

There is also an option for those who don’t eat beef. They can have a Pork rice bowl with the same elements and ingredients. Pork has a huge amount of fat so That can make the rice greasy but other than that, pork can make it delicious as well as beef.

WELSH ONIONS

They are also known as long green onions, Bunching onions, spring onions, etc. They can be served as the substitute instead of scallions. In Japan they are known as NEGI. They are used in Miso soup, Beef scallion rolls, and many other dishes.

They served with beef bowl. They are cooked with beef in the last 5 minutes to get the beef flavor and a little soft then served over the bowl with beef. They are crunchy and juicy at the same time and go best with this beef bowl.

EGG

Egg is the best option for beef bowl. This element gives the dish a whole meal effect and the fluffiness of the egg with rice and beef is best combination. It can be served in many different forms like.

• Boiled egg
• Poached egg
• Fried egg
• Omelet
• Fluffy omelet.

SAUCE

Sauce is obviously the option with all the stuff like beef and rice and egg. We must be present this dish with different soups and broth also with sauces like :

• Dashi broth
• Miso soup
• Soya sauce
• Mirin
• Sake
• Daku Daku
• Tsuyu

DIFFERENT TOPPINGS

• Fish stock
• Seaweed stock
• Raw egg
• Grated cheese
• Kimchi
• Beni Shoga
• Miso soup
• Daikon

SHICHIMI TOGARASHI

This is Japanese Seven spice mix. This is very favorite spice of Japanese because the addition of this spices mix makes the dish very delicious. Half teaspoon of shichimi togarashi makes dish very pooping out and flavorful. It is also known as ”seven color chili pepper”

It has the following spices :

• Crushed red chili pepper
• Black sesame seeds
• White sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Nori
• Negi
• Chenpi roasted peel
• Sansho

INGREDIENTS

• Japanese short grain rice : 2 cups
• Water : 1 cup
• Salt : 1 teaspoon

FOR BEEF STRIPS

• Beef thin strips : 350 grams
• Onsen Tamago : 2
• Seven spice mix (Shichimi Togarashi) : 1 teaspoon
• Olive oil : 2 tablespoon
• Mirin : 1 tablespoon
• Sake : 2 tablespoons

COMPLEMENTARY ITEMS

• Eggs : 2
• Scallions / spring onions : 1 cup
• Sesame seeds : 2 tablespoons
• Daikon : 1/2 cup
• Tofu : 1/2 cup

COOKING

• First of all we need to cook rice by adding rice with salt and water into steamer.
• Let the time set for 20 minutes and the beautiful rice is ready within this time.
• Now take beef strips with olive oil in the pan and add all the beef ingredients to cook.
• Beef slices are very thin so it does not take time more then 10 minutes.
• Now we have to arrange the all elements into the bowl.

• Now take rice in the bowl and top it over the beef and serve
• Enjoy 🙂