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Japanese

Gyudon

Non-vegetarian

牛丼 · gyūdon

Thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a sweet soy and dashi broth, ladled over rice — Japan's classic fast, filling beef bowl.

Gyudon is a Japanese rice dish, ready in about 25 minutes and made with beef sirloin steak and onion. It serves 2 and is rated easy to cook.

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Delicious Japanese beef bowl with soft-boiled egg and rice, captured in close-up.
Photo: Lucas Durães / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Serves
2
Level
Easy
Calories
548

Plus cooking the rice.

Ingredients

2 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the rice until the water runs nearly clear and cook it in a rice cooker (opens in a new tab) or covered pan until tender; keep warm.

  2. Step 2

    Bring the dashi (opens in a new tab), soy sauce (opens in a new tab), mirin (opens in a new tab), sake (opens in a new tab) and sugar (opens in a new tab) to a simmer in a frying pan. Add the onion (opens in a new tab) and simmer until soft and translucent.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the beef and ginger, separating the slices. Simmer just until the beef is no longer pink, skimming off any foam.

    • 3 min
    • medium heat

  4. Step 4

    Spoon the beef, onion (opens in a new tab) and plenty of broth over bowls of rice. Top with spring onion (opens in a new tab), a yolk and shichimi if you like.

    • 1 min

    Food safety: Raw egg yolk is not recommended for young children, pregnant people or anyone vulnerable.

About this dish

Origin
Japan · Well documentedMore food from Japan
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Rice dishes · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
sweet & savoury, umami, mild
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · High-protein · Low-fat
Without the optional extras: Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · One-pan
Cook more with
Beef sirloin steak · Onion · Short-grain rice · Dashi · Soy sauce · Mirin
Techniques
Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg yolk
  • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom dashi
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom soy sauce
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom soy sauce
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

548 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 408 g · recipe makes 2

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 30%
  • Carbohydrate 59%
  • Fat 11%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy548 kcal134 kcal
Protein37.4 g9.2 g
Carbohydrate73.7 g18.1 g
Net carbohydrate——
Sugars——
Added sugars——
Fibre——
Fat6.4 g1.6 g
Saturated fat2.2 g0.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol76 mg19 mg
Sodium1615 mg396 mg
Salt equivalent4 g1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
826 mg
Calcium
59 mg
Iron
3.1 mg
Magnesium
79 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
—
Vitamin C
4 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
2 µg
Folate (DFE)
37 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: spring onion, egg yolk, red chilli flakes.
  • Dashi: Home-prepared fish stock (FDC 172885) used as a stand-in for katsuobushi-kombu dashi; both are very low in energy.
  • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Don't boil the beef for long — thin slices toughen quickly.

Common mistakes

  • Boiling the beef hard or for too long makes thin slices tough — pull it as soon as the pink is gone.
  • Slicing the beef thickly; it must be shaved thin to cook in a couple of minutes.

Serve with

  • Pickled ginger and miso soup are the classic sides.

Storage

  • Refrigerate the beef and broth for up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently in a pan and serve over fresh rice.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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