Gyudon

Recipe from Ivan Orkin, Chris Ying, Yuko Yagi and Noriko Yura

Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Published March 11, 2023

Gyudon
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
25 minutes, plus freezing
Rating
4(703)
Comments
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A popular fast-food dish in Japan, gyudon is a quick-simmered mixture of thinly sliced beef and crisp-tender onions cooked in a sweet soy broth that’s seasoned with fresh ginger. It’s perfectly suited to weeknight cooking because it requires minimal prep, a short ingredient list and less than 30 minutes of active cooking. Gyudon owes its popularity to Yoshinoya, Japan’s first fast-food chain, which was founded in Tokyo in 1899 and became wildly successful in the 1960s serving just this dish. Variations abound — this recipe borrows heavily from the chef Ivan Orkin’s recipe, as well as one featured in “Simply Bento” by Yuko — and while some skip the use of dashi, a Japanese stock using bonito flakes and seaweed, the ingredient gives the dish a slight funk that offsets the sweetness of the mirin, sake and ginger. The flavor is subtle, but it’s missed when absent. —Alexa Weibel

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1pound boneless beef rib-eye, excess fat trimmed
  • 1¼teaspoons instant dashi granules, such as Hondashi
  • ¼cup soy sauce
  • ¼cup sake
  • 3tablespoons mirin
  • 3tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1medium yellow onion (about 9 ounces), halved, then thinly sliced from stem to stem
  • 1½teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
  • Cooked sushi rice (or other white rice), for serving
  • Pickled red ginger and togarashi, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

483 calories; 24 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 1180 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut beef crosswise into 2 pieces, then set your beef in the freezer for at least 1 hour to freeze until firm. Once the beef is very firm, slice it very thinly against the grain, ideally about ⅛-inch thick. Set aside at room temperature.

  2. Step 2

    Bring 1¼ cups water to a boil in a large skillet. Whisk in instant dashi until combined.

  3. Step 3

    Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar, stir to combine, and boil over high until flavors meld and mixture starts to reduce, about 8 minutes. Add the sliced onion and cook over medium until onion just starts to soften, about 5 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the beef and cook, turning the sliced beef frequently using tongs, until beef is just barely cooked and loses any traces of pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in the fresh ginger and cook for 1 more minute.

  5. Step 5

    Divide rice among bowls and top with beef mixture and any juices. Serve with pickled ginger and sprinkle with togarashi, if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5
703 user ratings
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Comments

Anne V

Frozen beef (and chicken) slice easily and to a consistent thickness on a mandolin. (You can adjust the slice thickness on all the mandolins I’ve ever had). This is true even when the meat is frozen in marinade, and whether it is raw or precooked (ie sous vide and then frozen). It’s also good for stir fry.

Nick

In Japan, this dish is served piping hot with a raw egg. Pour the egg on top and stir in before enjoying. The texture gains a nice creaminess, and the flavor is boosted as well (which is hard to do!).

Karolyn Schalk

If you keep a nice, trimmed rib eye in the freezer simply pull it out a half hour to 45 minutes ahead of when you want to make dinner. At my house this is a nice pantry meal.

Alex

I use frozen sliced beef from my local Asian market. It comes out better than slicing meat myself. Also, I let the onions cook longer than what the recipe suggests, more like 15-20 minutes, so that they really soften and absorb the cooking liquid. I start the broth, add the onions, then get started on the rice in my rice cooker, then wait about 10-15 minutes to add the meat. The whole thing is done inside of an hour, and we have dinner and a lunch done.

Linda

Our Costco sells thinly sliced New York steak for "shabu shabu." It is perfect for this dish.

Mariki

This came out perfectly ! I added a bit of extra liquid because I like a lot of broth to pour over my rice. Loved it.

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Credits

Adapted from “The Gaijin Cookbook: Japanese Recipes From a Chef, Father, Eater and Lifelong Outsider” by Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying (Rux Martin, 2019) and “Simply Bento” by Yuko Yagi and Noriko Yura (Race Point Publishing, 2018)

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