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Beef Yakiniku Don (Japanese BBQ Beef Bowl)

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 portions

Ingredients 
 

Yakiniku Don

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • ½ tbsp tomato ketchup
  • ½ tbsp honey
  • 1 clove grated garlic or 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
  • ½ tsp oyster sauce
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp apple juice

To Finish

  • ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • ½ tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • shredded cabbage as needed
  • 2 tsp finely chopped green onions
  • 2 pasteurized egg yolks or soft-boiled eggs, or onsen tamago, optional

Instructions 

  • Take 300 g thinly sliced beef out of the fridge about 10 minutes before it goes in the pan. (If you slice the beef yourself, cut across the grain.)
    Two stainless steel containers, one with sliced beef skirt steak and the other with thick steak. The steaks you can use for yakiniku donburi.
  • While you wait, make the sauce. Stir 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 2 tbsp mirin, ½ tbsp tomato ketchup, ½ tbsp honey, 1 clove grated garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger root, ½ tsp oyster sauce, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ tsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp apple juice together in a small bowl until well blended.
    shortcut yakiniku sauce for donburi in a steel spouted mixing bowl
  • Right before searing, press paper towels lightly over the beef to blot away the surface moisture.
    patting beef dry with red kitchen cloth for meat
  • Heat a frying pan over high heat and swirl in a little oil. Spread the beef across the pan in one layer without overlapping, and pull apart any clumps. (If your pan is small, sear the beef in 2 batches.)
    searing sliced beef for yakiniku don in a cast iron skillet
  • Once one side has browned, turn the slices over and add the sauce at once.
    Stir nonstop over high heat for 45 seconds to 1 minute. When the sauce has reduced and clings to the beef, and no thin, watery sauce remains in the pan, turn off the heat.
    seared beef with yakiniku sauce in a cast iron skillet on the stove
  • Divide 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice among the bowls. Lay the shredded cabbage, then beef on the rice and spoon the sauce left in the pan over it.
    shredded cabbage over rice in a black donburi bowl before placing beef to make yakiniku don
  • Drizzle ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil over everything, then sprinkle with ½ tbsp toasted white sesame seeds and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
    Yakiniku meat stacked on rice
  • Scatter 2 tsp finely chopped green onions on top. If you like, add 2 pasteurized egg yolks, one per bowl, and serve hot. Enjoy!
    Yuto Omura holding yakiniku don topped with chopped green onion and an egg yolk in a black striped bowl

Notes

Brown one side only: The beef keeps cooking through its minute in the sauce. Brown both sides first and the slices will be overcooked by the time they reach the rice.
If you use steak cubes: Pick a tender steak and cut it into small cubes. Work in the opposite order from the slices, browning every side over high heat before the sauce goes in.
Keep stirring: The heat stays on high, so the sauce scorches the moment you stop.
Judge the finish by the sauce: The 45 seconds to 1 minute is a guide. The longer the beef cooks, the more it shrinks and toughens. Turn off the heat when the sauce clings to the meat, whatever the clock says.
If you use pork or chicken: The same sauce suits either, and thigh is best for chicken. Unlike the beef, both must be cooked through to the center before they go on the rice, so give chicken in particular extra time in the pan.
If you add vegetables: Stir-fry quick-cooking vegetables such as onion or mushrooms in the same pan before the meat. A reader reported frying mushrooms and onions first, then stirring them into the beef ahead of the sauce.
If you use store-bought yakiniku sauce: Start with about the same amount as the homemade sauce, taste, and add more if it needs it.