With savory and juicy sliced beef served over steamed rice, this delicious Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (Gyudon) is a keeper for a weeknight meal!
Gyudon (牛丼) or Beef Bowl is a popular quick meal in Japan. It consists of a bowl of steamed rice topped with thinly sliced beef and tender onion, simmered in a sweet and savory dashi broth seasoned with soy sauce and mirin.
What is Beef Bowl (Gyudon)?
Thanks to Yoshinoya (吉野家), the largest beef bowl restaurant chain, Japanese gyudon became known as the “beef bowl” and is enjoyed by many people all around the world. You might wonder when the Japanese started to enjoy gyudon.
The Japanese adopted Western customs like eating beef between the late 1800s and early 1900s and these customs eventually spread throughout Japan.
Gyudon originated from another dish, Gyunabe (牛鍋) and Sukiyaki (すき焼き) where thin slices of beef are cooked with vegetables in a pot. At some point, it was served over rice in a bowl as “donburi” (rice bowl).
In 1899, the first Yoshinoya restaurant opened in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district. The use of cheaper beef cuts helped lower the cost, and ultimately drove the success of Gyudon. Today, it continues to be a popular quick, and inexpensive lunch menu for salarymen.
How to Make Yoshinoya Beef Bowl
In Yoshinoya’s gyudon, they simmer onion and thinly sliced beef in dashi broth and other seasonings. Every household makes gyudon slightly different, so feel free to adjust the flavor as you like.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Thinly Sliced Beef: If you don’t eat beef, you can make this dish with thinly sliced pork as well. Just make sure the meat is thinly sliced. Japanese, Korean, and Chinese grocery stores carry thinly sliced meat (both pork and beef), but if you can’t find it in the refrigerated or frozen meat sections, you can purchase a block of meat and slice them on your own. I’ve added the instructions in the recipe below.
- Onion: If you really do not like onion, you can skip it; otherwise, please include it. Cooked onions are tender and give sweetness to the sauce. I consider the onion just as important as the meat in this recipe. You can use regular yellow onion, sweet onion, or even purple onion (if the color doesn’t bother you).
- Shirataki Noodles (Optional): I usually cook gyudon at the very last minute (not planned) so I don’t have shirataki noodles in my fridge. However, it’s a great addition to gyudon and it’s a smart way to add the volume of the food without adding more meat. The texture also improves with shirataki noodles.
- Dashi: This recipe requires dashi. We cook the beef and onion in the dashi-based sauce. You can make dashi in 3 ways if you’re not sure how to make it.
- Seasonings: This recipe requires basic Japanese condiments—sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar.
- Steamed rice: You will need a little bit more amount of steamed rice than the usual rice bowl amount.
- Pickled Red Ginger (beni shoga): Typically, pickled red ginger is served on top of gyudon, and it gives a nice refreshing break to your palate. Similar to how sliced pickles are added inside juicy burgers. I personally like every bite to include a bit of pickled ginger but the amount is entirely up to you.
- Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice): If you like it spicy or got bored eating the same gyudon, sprinkle some shichimi togarashi on top. It’s a mixture of seven different kinds of spices and adds layers of flavors.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Prepare the ingredients by cutting the onion, green onion, and beef. Make dashi if you haven’t already.
- Cook the onion till tender in the dashi and seasonings mixture.
- Add the beef and simmer with the onion.
- Serve the gyudon over steamed rice.
What to Serve with Yoshinoya Beef Bowl
We almost always serve donburi or rice bowl dish with miso soup. As you’re required to make dashi for this gyudon recipe, you might want to make a big pot of dashi. Take out some of the dashi for gyudon and keep the rest for miso soup.
Delicious Side Dishes
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.
Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (Gyudon)
Video
Ingredients
- ½ onion (3 oz, 85 g)
- 1 green onion/scallion
- ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 1 Tbsp sugar (or more, to taste)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- ¾ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) (12 oz, 340 g; I use komagire beef from the Japanese market; use shabu shabu beef for higher quality; or slice your own meat)
- 2 Tbsp pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga)
For Serving
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
- 2 onsen tamago (optional)
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Gather all the ingredients. For the steamed rice, please note that 1½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice, enough for 2 donburi servings (3⅓ cups, 500 g). See how to cook short-grain rice in a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
- For the beef, I use assorted thin sliced beef labeled “komagire“ from my Japanese market and cut the slices further into smaller pieces. It works great for Gyudon. For higher quality, use shabu shabu beef. If you cannot find thin sliced beef in your local grocery store, you can slice your own meat. Freeze a block of fresh chuck or rib eye beef for 1–2 hours and then slice. If the pieces are too large after slicing, then cut them in half. See my tutorial for detailed instructions.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Cut ½ onion into thin slices and slice 1 green onion/scallion into thin rounds. Set aside.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add ½ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp mirin, and 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Tip: Add more sugar, if you prefer a sweeter taste. I don‘t recommend reducing the amount, as you need to counterbalance the salt in the soy sauce.
- Cover the pan with a lid and bring the sauce to a boil. Once the sauce is boiling, add the sliced onions and spread them out in a single layer. Cover to cook until tender (make sure you cover the pan, otherwise the sauce will evaporate).
- When the onions are tender, add ¾ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) and cook until it‘s no longer pink. Remove the foam and fat with a fine-mesh skimmer.
To Serve
- Divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into individual serving bowls. Serve the simmered meat and sauce over the steamed rice.
- Top with the sliced green onions and 2 Tbsp pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga). If you‘d like to top each bowl with an egg (optional), serve with 2 onsen tamago. Alternatively, you can pour beaten egg over the meat when it’s almost finished cooking in the pan (see how I do it in my other Gyudon recipe).
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days or in the freezer for a month.
delish 🙂
Hi Claudia, We are glad to hear you enjoyed this Beef Bowl! Thank you for your feedback!
This recipe was easy once I found all the ingredients (dashi was the one I had the most trouble finding, had to go to a specialty Asian grocery store to find it), and it’s very good but it’s EXTREMELY salty. I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish what’s in my bowl, much less the absolutely HUGE amount of leftovers I have. 2 TBSP of soy sauce adds SO MUCH SALT to the already quite salty dashi. I realize that the liquid is necessary for the sauce, could it be taken down maybe to 1 TBSP soy sauce and 1 TBSP water?
Hi Farren!
Please check your store-bought dashi ingredients. It may already have a soy sauce in it!
You may not need to add any more soy sauce for this recipe if it so.
As for the leftovers, we recommend adding sliced onions (can be sauteed), water, and 1 Tbs sake (and sugar as you like), then cook it again for a little bit. You may also add carrots or any vegetable that you may like to take down the salt level.
We hope this helps and you can save the dish!
I love to go to Yoshinoya. Their soya sauce is so good.
Do you know what is the brand of soya sauce they serve on the table for customer to dip the beef?
Hi Elise,
We don’t know the truth about the soy sauce but found the information on the internet in Japanese.😉 https://ys19711121.amebaownd.com/posts/2982632/
Thank you so much
Very tasty recipe, I used cornish game hen instead of beef and it came out marvelous. One substitution I had to make was chardonay instead of sake/mirin since I have a hard time finding it where I live. Would make again.
Hi Samantha!
Fantastic! We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed the dish.
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience/tips with us and for your kind feedback!
Hi Nami. I’ve tried this recipe two times already and my kids love it. My mom who is usually picky in giving compliment told me it is really good. We cant go to Yoshinoya in this pandemic so thanks to you and this recipe we can still eat the food that we like. Thanks!
Hi Lia,
Aww. We’re so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed the dish!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
Please stay safe and healthy.💞 Happy cooking!
This recipe was delicious, and took me back to Japan! Mentally, at least. Thank you for this!
Hi Ran! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
A question – if I want to double the amount, should I simply double the amount of all the ingredients or should I do something else with the sauce?
Hi Ran,
Simply doubling the amount of all the ingredients should work.
Thank you for trying this recipe!
Can we use shabu beef slices?
Hi Mandy! Yes, that’s what I use too! 🙂
Followed to the T. Delicious! Very simple and yum!
Hi T! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Just made this for the first time tonight and it was delicious! I used shaved beef sold at Trader Joe’s. I found shiodashi at my local Korean market and used that for dashi.
Hi Bern! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Yeah, TJ now carries those thinly sliced beef. It’s so awesome! FYI, be careful with shiro dashi as it is salted and it can be too salty (we usually dilute for broth). 🙂
I made this last night, using wagyu beef, and it was one of the best dishes we’ve had in a long time. The funny thing is, there are some meals in American culture that follow a similar pattern – onions and beef on top of rice/some sort of carb, and I absolutely detested those meals growing up. This is like a magical dish that is sweet and oh-so-savory at the same time.
Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you liked the dish – oh especially wagyu beef (drool!!). Thank you so much for your kind feedback. xo
I have a question in regards to Aji-Mirin, as this contains salt as well, what changes should I make to my Gyudon to make sure it’s not too salty (I don’t have Mirin available to me).
Hi Geoff! I don’t use Aji Mirin, but all mirin-like condiments have something else in it. You may want to taste and adjust as everyone use a different mix of different brands of condiments…
Came here after trying another recipe which I thought wasn’t very tasty. No regrets! This recipe is simple but delicious. I used 250g beef but the same amount of sauce as per your recipe. I reduced the soya sauce slightly. For dashi, I simply made an instant one from powder, still worked great. Thank you Nami! I cooked the short grain rice looking at your recipe too 🙂
Hi DT! Aww, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish. Thanks for your kind feedback and for trying my recipes. xoxo
I love this recipe so much! Delicious every time.
Hi Sian! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi Nami!
I don’t usually leave reviews on recipes, but with this one I just had to. This recipe is similar if not just like the one I used to have at my favorite Japanese restaurant. I have been missing it so much due to the COVID-19 lockdown here in California, so thank you so much for sharing the recipe for Gyudon. My favorite part is the bottom of the bowl where the rice is juicy because of the sauce. Thank you again! Please stay safe in the midst of the pandemic.
Kiara
Hi Kiara! Thank you so much for your kind feedback on this recipe. I’m so happy you enjoyed the dish (and yes! I know what you mean about the bottom of the bowl haha!). Please stay safe and healthy! 🙂
Hi Nami! I tried this tonight but no success. Maybe the meat was too thick and not enough fat. I noticed the mixture evaporates very quickly. Will it taste the same if I doubled the amount of the other ingredients if I want it to have more sauce?Or will it taste different?
Hi Vincent! Yes, you can increase the sauce if you like. I feel like 1) your meat didn’t have nice marble (fat) and it is rather tough 2) maybe you cooked a bit too long? 3) Did you cover the pan with a lid (it should not evaporate)?