Japanese Beef Bowl (Gyudon)

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The equal parts mystique and simplicity of Japanese food is perhaps what makes it so appealing to western palates. The ingredients are sometimes quite different, the naming is unique, and the presentation is like no other cuisine. Perhaps for these reasons cooking homemade Japanese food can be daunting, but it shouldn’t be. This amazing Japanese Beef Bowl recipe is a perfect example of the simplicity and elegance of Japanese cooking. Otherwise known as Gyudon, this dish is a simple Beef and Onion preparation, topped over Sushi Rice. It’s so easy to make and tastes wonderful

The Inspiration for this Recipe

What I love about cooking, especially when creating new dishes, is that inspiration can come from anywhere. That was exactly the case when making this Japanese Beef Bowl dish. It wasn’t from a cookbook, or Pinterest, or anything like that. It came from watching a travel video on YouTube!

There’s this great YouTuber who goes by the name of Solo Solo Travel. He’s documenting his travels around Japan and the world with two primary focuses – How he gets there (eg Trains / Planes), and the food he eats

This particular guy enjoys a lot of fast-food style meals when in Japan. One dish he’s eaten a few times is Gyudon. A simple Japanese dish consisting of Sushi Rice topped with slices of flavored Beef and Onions, with some toppings to finish. It looked great and inspired me to make my own. So, here we are!

How to make the perfect Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

The trick to perfecting this dish is making a great marinade and using good quality Beef. Perfect of these elements and the dish will taste amazing. As for the Sushi Rice, it’s so easy to make that anyone can do it. So, let’s get talking about the Beef

Only use Beef Tenderloin when making Gyudon

There is no substitute for Beef Tenderloin in this dish. The main reason is how tender it is. The dish requires cooking in a pan over very high heat. The beef is cut into thin strips, so it will cook very quickly. The beauty of Tenderloin / Filet is that it will stay tender when cooked this way. Other cuts of meat such as Strip Steak, Sirloin, or Rump, will end up way too tough once cooked

Cooking this dish requires about five minutes in a super-hot pan. The reason for this is you need to account for enough time for the Sauce to caramelize and stick to the beef. That is what gives this dish its unique sweet flavor and beautiful dark brown color. Cooking other cuts of Beef that have been thinly sliced for this long will result in a tough, unpleasant texture. So, please use good quality Beef Tenderloin

Making a simple marinade is the key to flavoring this dish

What gives this dish it’s unique flavor is this beautiful marinade. It consists of a combination of Soy Sauce, Mirin, Cooking Sake, and Brown Sugar. The Mirin, Sake, and Soy combined create the most delicious flavor that will instantly transport you to your favorite Japanese restaurant

Adding Brown Sugar to the marinade is what helps to give the dish its beautiful glaze and almost sticky-like quality. The dish isn’t shy on the Sugar either, using a total of 2 tbsp. Sugar is very common in Japanese cooking, in fact a lot of Asian cooking. Its sweetness helps to balance out the salty, acidity of the other ingredients

Other popular additions to the dish can be freshly grated Ginger, or finely diced Garlic. We’ve opted for Garlic in our recipe. It adds a slight spiciness to the dish as well as that overall wonderful flavor Garlic produces. There’s very rarely a dish we create that doesn’t warrant including Garlic in it!

How to make the perfect Sushi Rice

Making Sushi Rice may seem intimidating. I think that comes from shows like Jiro Dreams of Sushi where there is a grandmaster Sushi maker who has been perfecting Rice their whole lives. I recall that documentary where I believe an apprentice needed to make rice for 10 years before he was allowed to touch the Sushi

Well, we’re not making 3 Michelin Star food at home, so there’s no need for all the fuss. You can make perfectly good Sushi Rice at home by following this simple recipe. Cook the Sushi Rice just like you would any other kind of Rice. That is, adding 1 ½ times the amount of Water to the amount of Rice and then cooking it

For our technique we like to add boiling water to the Rice in a Saucepan. Cover, then drop the heat to low. Allow the Water to absorb, and then turn off the heat but leave the lid on. Cook for a further 10 minutes and it’s done

The trick to Sushi Rice is instead of serving it at this point, transport it to a large wooden bowl and add White Sugar, Vinegar, and some Salt. This is what gives the rice its unique flavor. Mix all that up well and you’re ready to eat!

The final component is perfect Pickled Radishes

This is a staple topping in Japanese cuisine, and I think Radishes are making a bit of a comeback in western cuisine too! Pickled Radishes are a critical component of the Japanese Beef Bowl dish. They help to cut through the sweetness of the dish, providing some much-needed contrast

Making them is easy. All you need to do is slice up the Radishes into thin slices (known as the Julienne cut) and let them sit in a mixture of Rice Wine Vinegar and Salt to Pickle. The longer you leave the Radishes in the pickling liquid, the more concentrated they will become

We recommend leaving them for a minimum of 2 hours, but up to 24 hours for a more intense flavor. Once the Japanese Beef Bowl is prepared, you can top the dish with the Pickled Radishes and some freshly cut Scallions and it’s time to dive in!

Japanese Beef Bowl Recipe

Ingredients

• 14 oz. / 400g Beef Tenderloin
• 1 Yellow Onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 Scallions, finely diced
• ½ tsp. Salt
  
  

Marinade / Sauce Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Mirin
• 2 tbsp. Cooking Sake (or you can use Rice Wine Vinegar)
• 2 ½ tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
  
  

Sushi Rice Ingredients

• 1 cup Sushi Rice
• 1 ½ cups of Boiling Water
• 2 tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbsp. White Sugar
• ½ tsp. Salt
  
  

Pickled Radish Ingredients

• 3 large Radishes, cut into thin strips
• 1 tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar or Cooking Sake
• ½ tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Combine all the Marinade ingredients into a large Ziploc bag and swoosh around to dissolve the Sugar. Slice the Beef into thin strips and add to the Bag. Seal and massage the marinade into the Beef, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight
2. Slice the Radishes into thin slices and then cut again lengthwise to create long strips. This technique is called a ‘Julienne Cut’. Place slices into a sealable container along with the Rice Wine Vinegar and Salt. Mix well then seal and refrigerate for 2 hours, preferably overnight
   
   

Making the Sushi Rice

3. Place the Sushi Rice into a medium sized Saucepan over high heat then add the Boiling Water. Stir well to break up the Rice then cover and reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 10 minutes until the Water has dissolved. Turn off heat, and leave for 10 more minutes with the lid on
4. Transfer Rice to a large wooden bowl and add the Rice Wine Vinegar, White Sugar, and Salt. Mix well and taste for seasoning
   
   

Cooking the Beef

5. While the Sushi Rice is cooking, place a large frying pan over high heat along with the Vegetable Oil. Add the Onions and Salt and sauté for 5 minutes until browned
6. Add the Beef including all the marinade to the pan. Cook for a further 4 – 5 minutes until the Beef has cooked and the sauce has begun to caramelize
7. Place a portion of Sushi Rice at the bottom of a serving bowl. Top with a portion of Beef and then finish with the Pickled Radish and Scallions and enjoy!
   
   

Recipe Notes

• If the Beef has cooked before the liquid has caramelized, we recommend removing the Beef from the Pan and continuing the cook the liquid until it has started to caramelize. Return the Beef to the pan and mix through before serving
• An optional topping to finish the dish is Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise
  
  

That is our take on the classic Japanese Beef Bowl, otherwise known as Gyudon. It’s such a tasty and hearty bowl of food and it is perfect for any occasion. We highly recommend you give it a try and let us know in the comments below what you think

If you’ve got a hankering for some more delicious Japanese food then we’ve got you covered! Here’s a few of our favorite Japanese dishes that we recommend you try:

• Beef Teriyaki Tataki
• Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with Scallions
• Homemade Tuna Tartare
• Teriyaki Salmon on Rice
  
  

Happy Cooking!