Gyudon is a very popular and unavoidable dish in Japanese cuisine, it is mainly composed of Japanese rice and beef, presentation :
Gyudon, a hearty Japanese dish
Gyudon “牛丼” is a large bowl of hot rice with strips of beef, onion, sometimes negi (Japanese spring onion) and beni shoga (red pickled ginger). It is usually accompanied by a raw or lightly cooked egg and miso soup. This one is part of the donburi family. Donburi are all composed of a large bowl of rice with all kinds of toppings on top such as tonkatsu (breaded pork), the tempura (fried shrimp, vegetables ect),unagi (grilled eel) …
Its ingredients
Gyudon is a generous dish, the meat and onions are simmered in a slightly sweet sauce, flavored with dashi (Japanese broth), soy sauce, mirin (seasoning), sake and sugar. This sauce is called tsuyu and is widely used in Japanese dishes. The raw or runny egg is mixed with the rice and the beef strips. In the mouth, you have a very greedy dish, mixing slightly sweet, salty and round flavors
eggs
meat
negi
onion
japanese rice
dashi
mirin
soy sauce
beni shoga
sake
In Japan
In the Meji era, Japan was heavily influenced by the West and its customs. The Japanese began to incorporate more and more beef into their diet. Gyudon was born at this time(1868 – 1912) and it was very successful. This dish was sold on the go in yatai (street stalls) because the meat was cheap, so gyudon became very popular.
Today gyudon can be found in many Japanese restaurants and also in fast food chains such as Yoshinoya, Sukiya, Matsuya… where it is sold for less than 10€ only!
We tasted it for the first time in Japan and we really appreciated its generosity for a really reasonable price. Gyudon is a hearty and pleasant dish that can be eaten quickly, which appeals to both salarymen and students.