Quick Recipe Version (TL;DR)
Quick Ingredients
- 4 cups hot cooked Japanese short-grain rice (from 1 1/2 cups uncooked)
- 1 lb (450 g) thinly sliced beef (ribeye, sirloin, or chuck), shabu-shabu thin
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) dashi stock (instant is fine)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) mirin
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) sake (optional)
- 1 1/2 tbsp (18 g) sugar
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 4 eggs (soft-poached or onsen-style)
- Beni shoga (red pickled ginger) and shichimi togarashi, to taste
Do This
- 1. Rinse and cook rice; keep hot.
- 2. Simmer dashi, soy, mirin, sake, and sugar; add onions and cook 8–10 minutes.
- 3. Add beef; stir gently and cook 1–2 minutes until just done; skim foam.
- 4. Poach eggs in 190°F/88°C water for 2 1/2–3 minutes (or sous vide 145°F/63°C for 45 minutes).
- 5. Fill bowls with rice; spoon beef, onions, and some broth over top.
- 6. Add egg, scallions, and beni shoga; sprinkle shichimi if desired.
- 7. Serve immediately while hot and brothy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Weeknight-fast but restaurant-worthy: tender beef, silky onions, and glossy soy–mirin broth in about 40 minutes.
- Comfort in a bowl: savory-sweet dashi sauce soaks into fluffy rice for maximum flavor.
- Customizable: choose soft-poached or onsen-style eggs, adjust sweetness, and add a kick with shichimi togarashi.
- Minimal dishes: one pot for the beef and onions, one for the eggs, and your rice cooker.
Grocery List
- Produce: 2 medium yellow onions, 3 scallions, small knob of ginger (optional)
- Dairy: None
- Pantry: Japanese short-grain rice, soy sauce, mirin, sake (optional), sugar, instant dashi granules (or liquid dashi), neutral oil, beni shoga (pickled red ginger), shichimi togarashi
Full Ingredients
Rice
- 1 1/2 cups (285 g) Japanese short-grain rice, rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups (415 ml) water (or per rice cooker directions)
Beef & Onion Broth
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) dashi stock (or 1 tsp instant dashi granules dissolved in hot water)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) mirin
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) sake (optional but traditional)
- 1 1/2 tbsp (18 g) sugar
- 2 medium yellow onions (about 1 lb/450 g), halved root-to-tip and thinly sliced
- 1 lb (450 g) thinly sliced beef (ribeye, sirloin, or well-marbled chuck), shabu-shabu thin
Eggs
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp rice vinegar or white vinegar (optional, for poaching)
To Serve
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- Beni shoga (red pickled ginger), to taste
- Shichimi togarashi, to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Rinse and cook the rice
Place the rice in a bowl and rinse under cold water, swishing with your hand, draining and repeating until the water runs mostly clear (about 3 rinses). Drain well. Cook with 1 3/4 cups (415 ml) water in a rice cooker (standard white rice setting, about 30 minutes) or on the stovetop: bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 15 minutes; rest 10 minutes off heat. Keep warm.
Step 2: Build the savory-sweet broth
In a wide saucepan or sauté pan (10–12 inches) add the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar.
Step 3: Simmer the onions until silky
Add the sliced onions to the pan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and tender with a slight bite, 8–10 minutes. Do not boil aggressively; you want a gentle simmer so the broth stays clear and the onions turn sweet.
Step 4: Add and gently cook the beef
Increase the heat slightly to maintain a lively simmer. Add the beef in a few loose handfuls, spreading it out so the slices separate. Cook just until the color changes and the slices are no longer pink, 1–2 minutes. Skim any foam for a clean-tasting broth. Turn heat to low to keep warm without overcooking.
Step 5: Cook the soft eggs (two options)
Quick Soft-Poached: Bring a medium pot of water to a gentle simmer, 190°F/88°C. Add 1 tsp vinegar (optional for tidy whites). Crack each egg into a small bowl. Swirl the water, slide in the eggs one by one, and poach 2 1/2–3 minutes, until whites are just set and yolks are runny. Lift with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
Onsen-Style (Sous Vide): Cook eggs in their shells at 145°F/63°C for 45 minutes. Chill briefly under cold water, crack into a small bowl, and slide onto the gyudon when serving.
Step 6: Assemble and serve
Fluff the hot rice and portion into 4 bowls (about 1 cup each). Spoon onions and beef over the rice, then ladle a few tablespoons of the broth so it lightly soaks the rice. Top each bowl with an egg. Scatter scallions, add a small tuft of beni shoga, and finish with a pinch of shichimi togarashi if you like heat. Serve immediately.
Pro Tips
- Ultra-thin beef cooks in seconds. If slicing at home, partially freeze the meat 30 minutes for easier paper-thin slices.
- Keep the simmer gentle to prevent tough meat and cloudy broth. Skimming foam makes the sauce clean and glossy.
- Taste the broth before adding beef. Prefer sweeter? Add 1–2 tsp more sugar. Saltier? Add 1–2 tbsp water or a splash more dashi.
- Use Japanese short-grain rice; its stickiness catches the sauce so every bite is seasoned.
- Make extra broth and onions; they reheat beautifully and fast-track your next bowl.
Variations
- Mushroom Gyudon: Add 4 oz (115 g) sliced shiitake or cremini with the onions for earthiness.
- Spicy Gyudon: Simmer a pinch of shichimi togarashi or a few slices of fresh chili with the onions.
- Gluten-Free: Use tamari instead of soy sauce and confirm your dashi and mirin are gluten-free.
Storage & Make-Ahead
Refrigerate beef and onions (with their broth) in an airtight container up to 3 days; reheat gently over low heat until steaming. Cooked rice keeps 3 days in the fridge; sprinkle with a little water and microwave covered to re-steam. Poached eggs are best made to order, but you can hold them in cold water up to 24 hours and rewarm in 150°F/65°C water for 5 minutes. Onsen-style eggs keep in their shells, refrigerated, up to 3 days; rewarm in a bowl of hot tap water for a few minutes.
Nutrition (per serving)
Approximate: 630 calories; 22 g fat; 78 g carbohydrates; 28 g protein; 1,450 mg sodium; 10 g sugars. Values will vary with cut of beef, rice portion, and sauce reduction.
