Mmmmm. There is nothing like gyudon, particularly after a few drinks and on the way home…

This is a common Japanese fast food meal. There are many little 24 hour fast food outlets that sell this dish, along with others of course, but this one is relatively cheap. It is also a very popular home cooked meal, that is comfort food for many Japanese people.

All it is is a beef and onion dish served on rice – but the flavour is a little more than just those two players. The sauce is a lovely rich combination of sweet and salty. A very easy dish to prepare, this is a good one to have when you don’t feel like cooking.

Gyu in Japanese means cow. The “don” part of the title refers to the dish it is served in. A donburi. This is a dish that is a little larger than your normal rice bowl. The foods that are eaten in this typically consist of some food with a sauce that is then on top of the rice. The sauce seeps down into the rice, and is DELICIOUS. Other donburi dishes you might know are Katsudon, Oyakodon and Tendon.

Gyudon 牛丼

Ingredients

• ½ onion, sliced
• ½ cup dashi
• 1 Tbsp sake
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 400g thinly sliced beef
• 2 Tbsp pickled red ginger.

Directions

1. In a frypan, mix together the dashi, mirin, sugar, soy and sake over medium high heat, dissolving the sugar.
2. Add the onions to the sauce, lower the heat and simmer, covered, and cook until tender.
3. Add the beef and cook briefly – the beef just needs to lose it’s pink colour.
4. Serve over cooked rice, letting the sauce seep down into the bowl.
5. Top with the pickled ginger