Gyudon, the comforting Japanese beef bowl, is one of my favorite dishes to pack for bento lunches! It’s fast and simple to prepare using leftovers from the previous night.
Thinly shaved beef and onions simmered in a savory-sweet sauce and served over a warm bowl of steamed rice, gyudon (Japanese beef rice bowl) has been an iconic lunch meal for many Japanese for over 150 years. You can read more about it in my original Gyudon recipe!
Today, we’re going to transform the dish into a satisfying bento lunch, so you can enjoy at work, school, or on the go.
Why You’ll Love Gyudon Bento
- It’s a tasty, substantial meal that is also budget-friendly.
- Takes only 15 minutes to pack.
What to Pack for Gyudon Bento
- Gyudon – Made the night before and reheated in the morning for the bento.
- Tamagoyaki – Optional, but I do like to add the rolled omelette as my son loves them and it does add extra protein to the mix. I recommend making extra tamagoyaki whenever you make them for dinner so you can freeze some for bento packing.
- Mixed vegetables – You can pack any leftover vegetables along with the bento. For a quick and simple shortcut, frozen vegetables are your friends.
- Seasonings – Furikake (non-spicy) or shichimi togarashi (for a little kick of spice) to bring some color and flavor to the plain steamed rice.
That’s all you need to pack a well-balanced gyudon bento! I also pack a small box of fruits for my kids to bring to school.
Helpful Tips
- Use frozen or canned vegetables! I find keeping a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer extremely convenient when you need just ONE more item to fill your bento box. All you need to do is to place the veggies in a microwave-safe silicone cup and defrost in the microwave! I sometimes saute the vegetables with a little bit of butter and season with salt and pepper to give it a bit more flavor.
- After reheating, make sure each dish is cooled before you pack them in the bento box. They are meant to be eaten at room temperature. Read: Food Safety for Bento.
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Gyudon Bento
Mouthwatering gyudon bento with tamagoyaki, furikake rice, and mixed vegetables. It's fast and simple to prepare using leftovers from the previous night.
Servings: 1 Bento
Ingredients
- cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- gyudon
- Lettuce (for garnish)
- Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette) (pre-cooked, see Notes)
- frozen mixed vegetables
- Furikake (rice seasoning)
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
Instructions
- Fill up half of bento box with Japanese rice. Let it cool so that hot/warm rice will not warm up other cool food.
- Reheat leftover gyudon in a frying pan until it’s warm thoroughly.
- Wash lettuce and pat dry. Place nicely in the bento box.
- Pack cooled gyudon on in a silicone cup and put in bento box.
- Put Tamagoyaki in the bento box.
- Put mixed vegetable in a silicone cup and microwave to defrost. Put it in bento box after cooled.
- Sprinkle furikake on top of rice.
- Cool down completely before closing the bento box.
Notes
Tamagoyaki: How to freeze food for Bento, click here.
[Please read FOOD SAFETY TIPS].
* This lunch is for my 6-year-old son.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Nutrition
Calories: 523 kcal · Carbohydrates: 38 g · Protein: 33 g · Fat: 24 g · Saturated Fat: 12 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 212 mg · Sodium: 732 mg · Potassium: 645 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 10 g · Vitamin A: 2679 IU · Vitamin C: 13 mg · Calcium: 74 mg · Iron: 5 mg
©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Did you make this recipe?If you made this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook! We love to see your creations on Instagram @justonecookbook!
I discovered your blog and love it. I lived in Japan for many years. Coming back I’ve missed a lot of the food. I knew how to make somethings, but I’m learning so much more from you. Everything is so helpful. I love the pics, and the explanations. Thank you very much.
Hi Jake! Thank you for writing! I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed eating Japanese food while you are in Japan. Hope my recipes encourage you to cook more Japanese food at home and they are close to the Japanese food you enjoyed in Japan. 🙂 Thank you for following my blog!
I love all your reciepts. they are delicious.
Thank you very much Marsha! So happy to hear from you. 🙂
No need to microwave those frozen veggies as your son won’t be eating his lunch for several hours and they will have defrosted in a much healthier way all by themselves.
Thank you for letting me know. The only problem for me is that when naturally defrosted, the water that melted from ice stays in the lunch box (silicon cup). So I usually defrost it in microwave and get rid of water before putting inside the box… Wish I can minimize this extra step!
Thanks for the bento tips. I especially learned from the food safety tips, which were very helpful! I don’t think I’ve read any information on bento food safety, esp. reheating to help prevent spread of bacteria. Thanks Nami!
Hi Julia! You’re welcome. 🙂 If the weather in your area is usually humid and hot (like Japan’s summer), food safety for bento is VERY important! Especially school doesn’t have a proper storage for lunch box (fridge) and we must make sure to keep the lunch safe for our children. Thank you for your feedback!