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What is Gyudon?
Gyudon (牛丼) is a delicious bowl of thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a delicious Japanese dashi sauce and then served on rice. The meat absorbs the flavor, and the sauce is poured over the rice. It’s seriously so GOOD!
In Japanese, “gyu” (牛) means cow or beef and “don” (丼) is short for donburi, which means rice bowl. So the dish is only made with beef. Saying that, there is also a pork rice bowl called “butadon” you can check out my butadon recipe here!
The history of gyudon goes all the way back to Meiji era (1868-1912) and used to be called “gyu-meshi” which literally means beef rice.
How I Developed This Recipe
In my quest to recreate the iconic taste of Sukiya’s beef bowl, I embarked on a flavorful journey.
My recipe is the culmination of numerous visits to Sukiya for takeout, where I compared their dish with my homemade versions, tweaking and refining along the way. My goal was to capture that signature Sukiya essence.
The recipe I’ve developed is surprisingly simple and easy to follow. I encourage you to try it at home and experience the delight of Sukiya-style beef bowl, right from your own kitchen!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Yellow Onion: Natural sweetness enhances broth flavor. White onions are also a good alternative.
- Thinly Sliced Beef: Short plate (beef belly) or flank/skirt steaks are ideal for gyudon. All gyudon chains such as Sukiya, Yoshinoya, and Matsuya use American or sometimes Canadian beef. While wagyu can be used for gyudon, it’s not ideal for replicating the taste of these chain restaurants due to its softness and expense. Opt for moderately fatty, firmer, and more affordable beef cuts for authentic fast-food-style gyudon.
- Cooked White Rice: Japanese short-grain white rice is recommended for its sweet taste and sticky texture. For perfect rice, use a rice cooker or follow my stovetop cooking guide.
- Red Pickled Ginger (Benishoga): A key component for gyudon, available on Amazon.
- Japanese Chili Powder: Adds spice for those who like heat. S&B brand shichimi togarashi is a great choice.
- Dashi Stock: Options include dashi made from dried bonito flakes and/or kelp, plant-based dashi, instant dashi, or dashi packets.
- Soy Sauce: Kikkoman soy sauce offers good value and quality. Check out my soy sauce 101 post for more options.
- Mirin: Look for “hon mirin” (本みりん) for quality flavor. Hinode Hon Mirin is a recommended affordable option.
- Sake: Softens meat texture and taste, adds acidity and bitterness to broth. Substitute with dry white wine, dry sherry, or a water and rice vinegar mix if avoiding alcohol.
- Light Brown Sugar: I prefer light brown cane sugar, but white sugar is also suitable.
- Shiro dashi: A lighter, saltier alternative to tsuyu sauce. Substitute with light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu) or tsuyu sauce if unavailable.
- Fresh Ginger: Grated fresh ginger is best; store-bought ginger paste is a convenient alternative.
- Garlic: Freshly grated garlic cloves are ideal, but packaged garlic paste works as a shortcut.
- Chinese Chicken Bouillon Powder: Enhances broth with additional depth and umami. I use youki garasupu.
Curious about the exact brands and products that bring my recipes to life? Discover the brands and ingredients behind my recipes at the Sudachi Amazon Storefront. Explore my handpicked pantry essentials and find your next kitchen favorites!
Topping Ideas
Much like a burger is more than simply a patty in a bun, gyudon is more than just beef on rice.
You can customize gyudon in so many ways and Sukiya offers the following toppings, allowing you to make the dish even more delicious!
- Kimchi
- Scallions
- Cheese
- Ponzu on grated daikon radish
- Okra
- Raw egg/egg yolk
- Salad (with broccoli, shredded cabbage and sweetcorn)
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make delicious Sukiya-style gyudon from scratch at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the printable recipe card below.
Cut the onions into thick wedges and break the layers apart.
Add the dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin, sake, light brown sugar, shiro dashi, grated ginger, grated garlic and Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder to a medium saucepan and mix over a medium heat.
Add the onions to the broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat slightly and simmer until softened to your liking.
Add the beef to the pan and continue to simmer until cooked through.
Divide the rice into bowls about 2/3 of the way up and stack the beef and onions on top. Drizzle about 1-2 tbsp of the leftover broth over each portion.
Garnish with your favorite toppings. Red pickled ginger (benishoga) and Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi) are classic choices. See the section below for more topping ideas.
Enjoy!
FAQ
If we’re talking about the gyudon from popular restaurants like Sukiya and Yoshinoya specifically, they use beef short plate (beef belly) sourced from the U.S. or Canada. See the post above for more options and information.
Donburi dishes use Japanese short-grain white rice. You can see how to cook Japanese style rice here. Yoshinoya in particular state on their website (Japanese) that they use Japanese white rice specifically blended to match gyudon’s taste.
In Japan, it’s popular to garnish gyudon with chopped spring onions, pickled ginger or raw/soft boiled egg. You can eat miso soup, pickles or salad on the side if you like.
I hope you enjoy this Sukiya-style Gyudon Beef Bowl recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Donburi Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out some of my other popular rice bowl recipes!
- Yakinikudon (Beef fried in a yakiniku BBQ style sauce and served on rice)
- Katsudon (Crispy pork cutlet and steamed egg served on rice)
- Butadon (Thick pieces of pork belly fried in a caramelised soy sauce served on rice)
- Garlic Teriyaki Chicken don (Flavourful chicken thigh coated in a garlic infused teriyaki sauce and served on rice)
- Oyakodon (Delicious pan fried chicken and steamed egg served on rice)
I hope you enjoy this Sukiya-style Gyudon Beef Bowl recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
Sukiya Gyudon (Japanese Beef Bowl)
Ingredients
- 100 g yellow onion(s)
- 150 g thinly sliced beef end cuts, Philly steak meat or similar
- 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- red pickled ginger benishoga
- Japanese chili powder shichimi togarashi optional
Broth
- 300 ml dashi stock
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 ½ tbsp light brown sugar
- ½ tbsp shiro dashi OR light "usukuchi" soy sauce
- 1 tsp grated ginger or ginger paste
- ¼ tsp grated garlic or garlic paste
- ½ tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder I use youki garasupu
Instructions
- Cut 100 g yellow onion(s) into wedges.
- Take a saucepan and add all the broth ingredients (300 ml dashi stock, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp sake, 1 ½ tbsp light brown sugar, ½ tbsp shiro dashi, 1 tsp grated ginger, ¼ tsp grated garlic and ½ tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder). Mix well and place on the stove over a medium heat.
- Add the onion to the broth and bring to the boil. Once bubbling, lower the heat slightly and simmer until the onions are softened to your preference.
- Add 150 g thinly sliced beef to the broth and continue to simmer until cooked through.
- Divide 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice in serving bowls and top with the beef and onions. Drizzle 1-2 tbsp of the broth over each bowl.
- Top with red pickled ginger and Japanese chili powder. (See in post for additional topping ideas.)
- Enjoy!
The sauce was tasty and the meal was easy to make but the beef did not soak up the sauce as I would like. It often was tasteless without the sauce. Thanks for the easy steps and I look forward to trying more recipes.
Thank you for the comment and feedback! 🙂
This was super tasty! I loved it, especially that sauce. So easy and healthy too! I’m gonna try it with pork.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you liked it! Pork is a great idea 🙂
My mother- and father- in law (Brazilian Japanese) loved this recipe. Said it was better than sukiya and even ate the leftover broth with udon the next day. I use thin cut pork instead of bed because it’s cheaper and substitute rice vinegar for sake because my baby eats it. It’s on dinner rotation a few times a month. Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that you and your family enjoy the recipe, thank you so much!
how much is one portion of rice?
Hi Ben,
A bit tricky to answer this question since it depends on who’s eating. I personally cook about half a Japanese rice cup per person which is about 75g of uncooked rice each. After cooking, this is about 160g of rice. Donburi is typically made with a bit more, about 200-240g of cooked rice per person. It depends on your appetite but I hope this gives you a rough idea!