Yoshinoya Gyudon Beef Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links.Ready to make Yoshinoya Gyudon Beef! It’s a quick and simple dinner recipe you can make for your family when you are in a rush! Serve the tender beef on top of steamy white rice with soft-boiled egg. This tasty Japanese beef bowl is packed with flavor and super easy to make at home.
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I’ve always been a fan of Yoshinoya Beef Rice Bowl, or Gyudon—it’s my ultimate comfort food. This dish features thinly sliced beef simmered with sweet, caramelized onions. It’s a beloved staple in Japan and has been gaining popularity worldwide.
Gyudon (牛丼) is a quick, nutritious meal and a classic comfort food you can find almost anywhere in Japan. It’s been around for over 150 years and is the perfect lunch box filler. Simple, delicious, and loved by just about everyone!
Beef Gyudon (牛丼) is all about tender beef cooked with sweet onions in a savory sauce, then served over fluffy rice.
“Gyū” (牛) means beef, and “Don” (丼) refers to the bowl it’s served in.
This dish became famous worldwide thanks to the Yoshinoya restaurant chain in Japan.
It’s the ideal meal for busy people everywhere!
Every family in Japan has its own version of gyudon, but the basic ingredients are the same: thinly sliced beef, onions, and savory seasonings, all served over hot, steamy rice.
This beef gyudon recipe is a family favorite of mine—I’ve made it countless times, and it never gets boring. Top it with Egg for Ramen or pair it with Chicken Karaage.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Thinly-sliced beef slices – The slices have to be very thin. It is easy to get the beef slices in any meat store or grocery store nowadays. If you want to slice it yourself, make sure it is very thin. Otherwise, the beef will get a bit hard to chew.
Onion – The onion will give the sweet taste to the dish. It is just perfect with the tender thinly sliced beef.
Dashi – Dashi is Japanese soup stock made of kombu, shitake mushrooms and small dried fish. Dashi creates umami flavor in Japanese dish. It is very important to use this to get the authentic taste of Yoshinoya gyudon beef version. Dashi can be easily obtained in Asian grocery store or any Japanese supermarket.
Mirin – Mirin is sweet rice wine. It is used in many Japanese dish. My family loves Japanese food, so I keep one bottle in my chiller to use in many Japanese dish.
Sake – Cooking sake is easy to get in any Asian grocery store. It is one of many important ingredients besides mirin that you need to have in your chiller.
Fish Sauce – In this recipe, I use fish sauce. If you prefer to use your own soy sauce, please do. I find that fish sauce pairs very well with dashi.
Rice wine or white wine – I use white wine to add more flavor to the dish. It is optional. If you don’t have white wine, you can skip this.
Oyster sauce – I use oyster sauce to add a little bit of sweetness to the dish.
Substitutions & Variations
There are many variations of Gyudon that you can find nowadays.
Gyudon with Egg Topping – In Japan they serve it with raw egg yolk called Tsukimi Gyudon (お月見牛丼) or with poached egg called Onsen Tamago (温玉のせ牛丼).
Tanindon (他人丼) or Gyutojidon (牛とじ丼): the eggs are drizzled over the simmering beef slices in a hot pan. The eggs are slightly runny but set in the pan.
Gyudon with Spicy Chili Sauce – In Jakarta, Indonesia I found different variations in Yoshinoya Beef Rice Bowl chain restaurant. They even serve beef rice bowl with spicy chilli sauce, which is very popular among Indonesians.
How to Make Yoshinoya Gyudon Beef
STEP 1. Mix all the sauce and dashi with the water (Images 1, 2, 3). Pour the sauce and dashi mixture into the pan. Put it on medium heat. Let it simmer (Image 5).
STEP 2. Put the sliced onion and stir fry with a spatula until the onion is soft or caramelized (Images 6, 7).
STEP 3. Add the thinly sliced beef into the pan (Image 8). Stir fry and let the beef slices turn to brown color (Image 9).
STEP 4. Let it simmer for a few minutes until the color is brown enough (Image 10). Finally, have a taste. If you like it a little bit sweeter, you can add half teaspoon of sugar to it. For me, the flavor is just perfect! The sweetness and savoury taste are well-balanced.
STEP 5. Serve over hot, steamy rice. Enjoy with ground chili powder and soft-boiled eggs or ajitsuke tamago. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Use very thinly sliced beef. I highly recommend rib eye beef slices. They become tender easily because of the texture of the meat and the thinness of the slices.
- Prepare hot, steamy rice. This recipe can be divided into 3 – 4 bowls of rice.
- It is easier to use dry dashi packet from Asian grocery store. You can make your own dashi (Japanese soup stock) This is also useful if you want to make miso soup.
- When the beef is no longer pink in color or crinkle in shape, you can turn off the stove. It should be tender enough. Do not overcook it.
- If you like to drizzle beaten eggs on the beef, you can do so. Cover the pan with a lid after pouring the beaten eggs. Let the egg set to your liking.
FAQs about Yoshinoya Gyudon Beef
You can use honey or sugar with rice vinegar to substitute sake or mirin.
Gyudon beef is not halal if you use sake or mirin because of its alcohol content. If you substitute the sake or mirin
To make the dish less sweet, you can reduce the amount of sugar or use a low-sodium soy sauce. If the dish is too salty for your preference, dilute the sauce with a bit of water or unsalted broth. So, always taste as you cook and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
Yes, Gyudon is perfect for meal prep. You can cook the beef mixture in advance and store it separately from the rice. When you’re ready to eat, reheat the beef mixture, and serve it over freshly cooked or reheated rice.
Storage
It is easy to store the leftover and reheat it the next day. Keep it in a closed container separate from white rice and reheat on a pan or with microwave.
Other simple Japanese dish you might like:
- If you like salmon and would like to have a quick one-dish meal, you can try Takikomi Gohan that uses only a simple rice cooker.
- Love Japanese snack? You definitely should try this delicious Japanese Beef Croquette.
- To finish your meal with a Japanese touch, try making this Hokkaido Cheese Tart.
- If you care to make a Japanese breakfast, Japanese Pancake: Dorayaki is the answer.
Japanese Gyudon
Ingredients
- 250 gr beef slices yakiniku
- 1 pcs onion sliced
Sauce mixture
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 5 gr dashi
- 1 tsp mirin
- 200 cc water
Instructions
- Mix all the sauce and dashi with the water. Pour the sauce and dashi mixture into the pan. Put it on medium heat. Let it simmer.
- Put the sliced onion and stir fry with a spatula until the onion is soft or caramelized.
- Add the thinly sliced beef into the pan. Stir fry and let the beef slices turn to brown color.
- Let it simmer for a few minutes until the color is brown enough. Finally, have a taste. If you like it a little bit sweeter, you can add half teaspoon of sugar to it. For me, the flavor is just perfect! The sweetness and savoury taste are well-balanced.
Video
Notes
- Use very thinly sliced beef. I highly recommend rib eye beef slices. They become tender easily because of the texture of the meat and the thinness of the slices.
- Prepare hot, steamy rice. This recipe can be divided into 3 – 4 bowls of rice.
- It is easier to use dry dashi packet from Asian grocery store. You can make your own dashi (Japanese soup stock) This is also useful if you want to make miso soup.
- When the beef is no longer pink in color or crinkle in shape, you can turn off the stove. It should be tender enough. Do not overcook it.
- If you like to drizzle beaten eggs on the beef, you can do so. Cover the pan with a lid after pouring the beaten eggs. Let the egg set to your liking.
Here is a super easy and super tasty Japanese dish! You will fall in love with the first bite. Serve with white rice and soft-boiled egg, it just never fails!