Spicy Beef Gyūdon Recipe!

Okay before the recipe begins just a quick heads up! I am well aware this is not a traditional style gyūdon! I am by no means an expert in Japanese cooking and culture, however, I have been trying to educate myself on both for the better part of 5 years and really love trying to recreate dishes, particularly those I had during my time in Tokyo. With that being said, I also love trying to place my own twists on dishes, especially when these allow for people to try dishes they usually would not be able to replicate. Gyūdon is one such example as dashi and sake (or actually nihonshu as sake translates to just alcohol whereas nihonshu translates to japanese wine), usual ingredients in the simmering sauce, are very hard to get a hold of in the UK and if they can be obtained they are usually extremely expensive. As such this gyūdon goes for a richer, thicker sauce that still retains the flavours of Japanese cooking but changes them up a small bit. Okay here goes!

Ingredients (Makes 2 medium bowls) (For 1 bowl simply half the ingredients of everything except the marinade) (Cooking times should be roughly the same provided you have a big enough or small enough pan)

400g thin beef steak

130g short grain Japanese rice (if you can get a hold of it if not sub in any short grain rice)

2 large eggs

For the marinade:

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

1/2 cup dark soy sauce

1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp mirin or vinegar (balsamic or normal)

2 tbsp sake (optional)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp hot chilli powder

3 medium chillies (chopped)

2 tsp minced ginger

Juice of 1 large orange

Salt and pepper

For the base:

1 red onion

180g button mushrooms (or nicer mushrooms if you can afford e.g. shiitake, maitake, or enoki)

2 garlic cloves (chopped into small cubes)

2 tbsp minced ginger

A splash of dark soy sauce

A generous sprinkle of white sugar

A splash of mirin or rice wine vinegar at the end of the reducing time

Green onions/scallions and an orange to serve

Method

1. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Next cut your beef into thin strips/ slices and score both sides with diagonal shallow cuts. If your beef is difficult to cut you can freeze it then shave off thin strips, these will not require scoring. (These will be much quicker to cook once defrosted and so you should reduce cooking times slightly for the beef or simply keep a closer eye on them to prevent burning).

2. Place the beef into a bowl or saucepan and pour over the marinade ensuring it mostly covers each piece. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours or until use.

3. Before beginning to cook the final dish, first cook your rice and leave to cool and refrigerate (if making in advance), or simply leave to simmer and drain just before serving.

4. Chop your onion in half through the root and peel back the first few layers. Remove the tip and root, then slice each half ,with the flat side down on the chopping board, into roughly 1cm thick arches, separating the layers afterwards. Then slice your mushrooms, mince and measure your ginger and chop your garlic.

5. Place all into a wok or frying pan on fairly low heat with a splash of oil. After sizzling for 1-2 minutes, add in a generous splash of soy sauce and an equally generous sprinkle of sugar and stir. Leave to cook for 10-15 minutes or until browned and starting to caramelise.

6. Arrange your mushrooms and onion in the pan so that it covers the metal entirely. Remove your beef from the marinade and place straight onto the top of the vegetables, not stirring. Leave for 5-10 minutes or until the sides and bottom of the beef begin to brown.

7. Mix the beef into the vegetables and turn the heat up to medium. Leave to cook for a couple minutes, stirring, until the beef is browned on all sides. Once this has happened add in 1/2 cup of the marinade (or 1/4 cup if making one bowl). Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce reduces by roughly half. (The sauce must boil/ sizzle violently as it previously was in contact with raw meat!)

8. After the sauce has reduced finish with a generous splash of Kirin or rice wine vinegar and stir. Then take the meat and sauce out of the pan and leave to rest while you prepare the rice. Leave any residual juices in the pan and place back onto medium heat. Add in the rice and cook for a couple minutes, stirring, until hot.

9. Scrape the rice to one half of the pan. Crack your eggs into the other half and scramble for a 1-2 minutes or until beginning to form pieces. Then mix fully into the rice and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

10. Add rice to your bowls and then top with the beef. Cut the root and very top off the scallions and then chop diagonally into small pieces. Scatter over the top of the gyūdon and then squeeze over some orange (or any citrus) juice. This helps to cut through the fat and richness of the dish.

11. Enjoy!! This is my favourite meal for when I feel like really treating myself! I usually only make one portion and as such have adjusted the cooking times. As long as you roughly follow them and keep an eye out for the colour changes and markers I described you'll be fine :-)

Signed A Shipwrecked (and Japan Obsessed) Coffee Addict