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Favorite of the week with thinly sliced beef + tender onions in a sweet and savory sauce. So fast + easy!
This is one of those quick, quick, weeknight dinners that lighten it up. With just a few ingredients and minimal prep time, this comes together in 45 minutes, start to finish (and most of the time we just let it simmer).
So what exactly is gyudon? Gyudon is a traditional Japanese beef bowl, a popular fast food item thanks to Yoshinoya, with thinly sliced beef and sweet onions simmered quickly in a sweet and savory soy-based sauce.
The key here is to use paper-thin sliced beef, which is available at most Asian grocery stores. And they’ll have kombu and bonito flakes for your dashi broth as well (more on that below). Or you can refrigerate the ribeye until firm, slicing as thinly as possible. This thin cut of beef makes this dish super quick comfort food.
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WHAT IS GYUDON?
Gyudon is a traditional Japanese beef bowl of thinly sliced beef and sweet onions cooked quickly in a sweet and savory soy-based sauce.
WHY USE THE DASH TOOL?
Dashi stock can easily be made from scratch using water, kombu (seaweed) and bonito flakes, simmering very quickly for 10 minutes to form the base of this dish. It infuses the thinly sliced beef with all the flavor, keeping it tender and moist.
WHAT DO YOU SERVE?
Gyudon is traditionally served with a raw egg yolk (or a fried egg if you prefer), pickled ginger, green onions, and sesame seeds. Or sometimes we just serve it over microwaved rice when there isn’t enough time.
- 1: glass sushi rice
- 1 ½ cups chopped sweet onion
- ¼: glass dry sake
- ¼: glass mirin
- 3: tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1: table spoon sugar
- 1: pounds boneless ribeye steak, thinly sliced
- 4: fried egg
- ¼: glass Benishoga, red pickled ginger
- 2: green onion, thinly sliced
- 2: teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
For the dashi broth
- 4: cups water
- ½: ounce dried kombu
- ½: ounce dried bonito flakes
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In a large pot of 1 1/2 cups water, cook rice according to package directions; put aside
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Heat the dashi broth, onion, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. to boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes.
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Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
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Stir-fry beef until cooked through and tender, about 2-3 minutes; season with additional soy sauce to taste.
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Divide the rice into bowls. Top with beef, egg, and pickled ginger, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
For the dashi broth
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Combine water and kombu in a small saucepan over medium heat. to boil; Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Remove from fire.
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Stir in the bonito flakes; let it stand for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; remove solids.
