What is Gyudon?
Like Oyakodon or Katsudon, Gyudon is a member of the large Japanese culinary family of Donburi. Among these, it is even a great favorite and can be found in both regular
and spicy versions. Basically, it’s very flavorful beef in a dashi-based sauce, poured over rice and topped with a soft-boiled egg.
Because I know my audience, I’m presenting the regular version here, but stay tuned for the spicy version coming soon!
Tips for Successful Gyudon
The meat should be very, very thin. Don’t worry if the meat tears a bit while cutting. Perfection is not the goal.
The egg (optional) can be either raw or poached. The variant with the raw egg is called tamago kake gohan (to impress your guests)
Regarding the dashi broth, honestly, don’t stress yourself out. Unless you’re really aiming for perfection, powdered dashi mixed with water will do the job
We add the grated ginger at the end of cooking to ensure its aroma remains intact
The Main Ingredients of Gyudon
The sake: brings an essential traditional flavor nuance
The light soy sauce: Can be replaced with tamari sauce, it brings saltiness and umami
The togarashi: it’s Japanese chili powder, substitute with any other chili powder
Beni shoga: “Purple ginger”, it’s a Japanese pickle (tsukemono) that brings a nice freshness. That said, it’s optional.
Equipment
- 1 Wok
Ingredients
- 250 g beef very thinly sliced, carpaccio-thin
- 2 servings cooked white rice
Broth
- 120 g onion thinly sliced
- 120 ml dashi homemade or made with dashi powder
- 60 ml sake
- 30 ml light soy sauce
- 15 g sugar plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
- salt
Toppings
- 2 poached eggs optional
- green onions sliced
- beni-shoga
- togarashi
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan or wok, combine the onion, dashi, sake, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.120 g onion, 120 ml dashi, 60 ml sake, 30 ml light soy sauce, 15 g sugar, salt
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
- Add the beef and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the beef is cooked through and the liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.250 g beef
- Stir in the ginger and simmer for 1 more minute. Season to taste with salt and sugar.1 teaspoon ginger
- Divide the rice among bowls and top with the beef and sauce. Garnish each bowl with a poached egg (if using), sliced green onions, beni-shoga, and togarashi. Serve immediately.2 servings cooked white rice, 2 poached eggs, green onions, beni-shoga, togarashi
Made this gyudon for a family birthday dinner last weekend, and the bowls disappeared in minutes. The dashi and ginger flavor was spot on, and everyone loved adding their own toppings, especially the beni-shoga and a little togarashi 😊
Made this gyudon last night and the dashi-sake sauce was so savory and balanced that it honestly tasted as good as, if not better than, the bowls I’ve had at Japanese restaurants; the ginger at the end really makes it.
Made this gyudon about 4 times now, and it never disappoints; the dashi-sake-soy balance is spot on and the ginger at the end really makes it. Still just as satisfying every time, especially with a soft egg on top 🙂
Made this gyudon last night and swapped the sake for mirin since that’s what I had on hand. Also let the onions simmer a couple extra minutes until really tender, and the bowl turned out even better than expected 😊