NANI Cooks! — Delicious and Simple Gyudon Recipe
Gyudon is a popular quick Japanese meal consisting of a bowl of rice topped with thinly-sliced beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. This classic item is a staple and go-to meal option for many Japanese during lunchtime. Today we discovered that it is not only extremely delicious but also super easy and quick to make!
If you don’t already know:
NANI Cooks! Is our latest cooking series where we recreate Japanese recipes at home to show you that you don’t need fanciful ingredients and equipment to create an authentic and delicious Japanese meal. The recipes shared are quick and easy, most of them using minimal effort and/or taking less than an hour. If you haven’t already, check out our first few series on Spaghetti Neapolitan, Nikujaga, and Tebasaki Wings here!
Join us this time as we whip up this super yummy Gyudon (this is by far our most successful recreation!) that takes less than 30 minutes for preparation and cooking time! For more visual instructions, scroll towards the end for a video recipe!
PS: Most ingredients this time are sponsored by SOSHINSEN. Stay tuned to the end for more information!
What is Gyudon?
Source: RYUKOCH
Gyudon originated from a beef hot pot dish called “gyunabe” during Japan’s Meiji Era. Japanese people back then were strictly prohibited from eating beef for both religious and practical reasons; consuming meat was against Buddhism teachings, and eating farm animals that were useful for work seemed impractical.
However, when Western culture was introduced to Japan during the late 19th century, the beef hot pot dish became extremely popular. This led to people pouring their leftover gyunabe broth over rice, and soon restaurants began serving “gyumeshi” (loosely translated to ‘beef rice’). The name “gyudon” was eventually coined by Eikichi Matsuda, who was the owner of Japan’s most famous Tokyo-based, beef bowl chain, Yoshinoya during the late 1800s!
Every family in Japan prepares their Gyudon a little differently. While there are no strict rules to what goes into a Gyudon, the base remains the same; thinly sliced beef, onions, soy sauce, and rice!
Without further ado, let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
Serves One
1/2 Onion
340g Thinly Sliced Beef
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Sake
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1.5 cups Rice
3 Tbsp Water
1 Egg (optional)
Step 1
Wash and cook your rice.
Pro tip: If you are using Japanese rice, or any short-grain rice, soak your rice beforehand for 20 minutes and drain well! This step is essential in ensuring that your rice cooks all the way through.
Step 2
Slice 1/2 an onion.
Step 3
Cut your beef into strips!
Pro-Tip: Get a good-quality beef like the Premium A5 Wagyu Kiriotoshi ($38.50) from Soshinsen. Trust me with that, and you need not worry about the taste of your Gyudon even if the rest of the steps are sloppy.
Step 4
Add in your water, Mirin, Sake, sugar, soy sauce and onions into a heated pan.
Cook till the sauce boils and the onions are softened!
Step 5
Once onions are softened, add in your beef.
Sauté continuously till beef is cooked!
Optional: Crack and stir in your eggs to cook alongside the beef and onions!
Final Step
Serve on a bed of warm rice, and you’re done!
All done!
And just like that, your Gyudon is done!
This dish was a lot easier to make than expected! Prior to making this myself, I always thought that Gyudon required a lot of different steps or a long time for marination, but actually, the longest part was simply waiting for the rice to be fully cooked!
The Gyudon definitely exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend getting good-quality beef slices like the Premium A5 Wagyu Kiriotoshi we used for this gyudon recipe, which made this ordinary dish instantly delish. While normal shabu-shabu beef slices work too, I think having good quality beef vastly improves the flavor and the texture of the dish.
Check out our video recipe here!
About SOSHINSEN (& an Exclusive Giveaway with NANI)
Soshinsen imports premium Japanese products – including seafood, meats, fruits and vegetable, and condiments – from various markets across the prefectures in Japan. Their products are freshly picked by their professional team in Japan and delivered right to your doorsteps, making sure you get a taste of Japan especially during this period when we are unable to travel!
Some of the best sellers at Soshinsen include their Soshinsen DIY Chirashi Set, seasonal Sea Urchin (Uni), and a specially curated list of Japanese Desserts. Aside from these, Soshinsen also has a concierge service where special requests for the best of the seasons can be flown in specially for you - click on the link in their Instagram bio to reach out to them!
From now till 14th November, Soshinsen will be giving away 5 x Ready-To-Eat Gyudon sets to 5 lucky NANI winners!
These ready-to-eat sets are Soshinsen’s latest collection of convenience foods for those who are lazy to whip up a meal even though our gyudon took less than 30 mins from scratch. In collaboration with 4 Hands Collective, these gyudon sets feature Wagyu beef slices that are simmered in a broth of onions, beef stock, mirin, and soy sauce for 4 hours (onsen tamago and rice are not included in the set). All you have to do is heat the whole packet in a pot of hot water, cut it open after it boils for 6 to 8 minutes, place the meat over a bowl of warm rice, and voila - a bowl of delicious gyudon!
Check out our Instagram post below on how to join this giveaway!
Enjoying our NANI Cooks! series? Check out other recipes here!
