One Pot Gyudon (Made in Rice Cooker)

You have to try making this popular Japanese dish, one pot gyudon in a rice cooker. All you have to do is add all the ingredients (rice, beef and onions) in the rice cooker (or stovetop pot) and wait for the magic to happen!

What is Gyudon?

Gyudon (牛丼) is a popular Japanese comfort food that literally means “beef bowl.” Traditionally, the dish is made by simmering thinly sliced fatty beef and onions in a savory-sweet broth. Then, the beef and sauce is served over a bowl of steaming white rice. Sometimes it’s topped with a raw or soft-poached egg (onsen tamago) and garnished with ginger and pickles.

A lot of Japanese businessmen like to enjoy gyudon during their lunches in fast-food chains like Yoshinoya in Japan. This dish is also enjoyed at home due to the accessible pantry ingredients and easy cooking time.

Inspired by the Famous Japanese Dish – Gyudon

Don’t be mistaken my recipe is not the ‘authentic’ way of making Gyudon. However, the dish is super easy to make and tastes just as comforting as the original version. The rice soaks up the beef sauce and onions to make a super fragrant meal!

If you’re looking for more one pot recipes, try my One Pot Hainanese Chicken Rice and One Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken.

Ingredients

Here’s a look at what you need to make this One Pot Gyudon. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.

EQUIPMENT:

• Zojirushi rice cooker – this is the rice cooker I use and it works great! I bought it at Costco 8 years ago and it’s still reliable to this day. The rice always comes out delicious! I recommend checking Costco if they have this brand or you can buy it on Amazon.

*note: use the standard measuring cups, not the rice cups*

One Pot Rice

• thinly sliced beef – I use rib eye or chuck cuts from the Korean grocery store. It’s pre-cut to make things quicker. You can also buy your preferred beef cut and freeze for an hour and cut thinly.
• instant dashi powder – I use Hondashi brand to give me the authentic Japanese taste. It’s inexpensive and can be found at most Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch or Hmart.
• soy sauce – low sodium is recommended so the rice is not too salty. Make sure you choose a tasty soy sauce as it is your base of your sauce.
• dark soy sauce (for color) The rice and beef is supposed to have a deep brown color, so I added a dark soy sauce for aesthetic reasons. The soy sauce itself is not too salty and can be substituted with low sodium soy sauce.
• mirin (add water if you can’t have alcohol) is a Japanese rice wine that gives sweetness to the beef. It also helps take out any gamy flavor of the meat.
• sugar – traditionally gyudon tastes sweet! This is also essential to balance the salty flavor. You can add honey to substitute as well.
• grated apple (optional) – This adds another layer of sweet and sour (just a tiny amount) flavor to the beef. The slight acidity can also tenderize the beef.
• white onion – gyudon always has lots of onion in the beef, so don’t skip this. You can also use purple onion (which might make it look different) but also tasty.
• short grain rice – Japanese dishes usually uses short grain rice to soak up the sauces of the beef. It also is not too mushy when cooked in the rice cooker.
• fried egg or soft boil egg – Traditionally a runny egg yolk is served to mix in with the beef and onions to make the whole dish more ‘creamy.’ Feel free to fry, poach or soft boil an egg to get that creamy yolky center.
• togarashi or ginger (optional garnishes) – To add dimension to your gyudon, you can garnish with togorashi (Japanese 7 spice) for heat and add red Japanese ginger, (beni shōga) to balance the fattiness of the beef.

Substitutions and Variations

• Add veggies like enoki mushrooms or spinach. Be careful not to add too much or else the rice can get soggy.
• No mirin? Replace it with water mixed with a pinch of sugar. You’ll still get that subtle sweetness without using alcohol.
• If you don’t have instant dashi, you can use chicken or mushroom bouillon instead! Without dashi, keep in mind that the Japanese authentic flavor may taste different.

How to Make One Pot Gyudon

Alternative Cooking Instructions

I understand that not everyone has a rice cooker, so some of us might use pots on the stovetop to cook the oyakodon. If that is you, get your medium sized pot ready. Add the rice, beef, and onions according to the recipe directions. Once your pot is filled with rice and all the ingredients…follow the instructions below and you can make your one pot beef and rice!

1. Heat pot to medium high and cook for 5-7 minutes covered with a lid. The water will start boiling. Make sure to watch over the fire because the water might boil over ◡̈
2. After 5-7 minutes, turn heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes covered. Do not open the lid during the entire cooking process.
3. Then turn off the heat and do not open the covered pot. Leave for 15-20 minutes covered. When rice is done, garnish with sliced green onions. Hope you enjoy!

Expert Tips

I taste tested this recipe a few times to ensure we can have the flavor of Gyudon without having mushy rice. Follow these tips for extra delicious beef and rice bowl!

• Soak your rice in water while you prepare your ingredients. This will help ensure that the center of the grains are cooked and give you great tender rice texture.
• Strain all the water after washing your rice. This helps ensure that your water and sauce measurements are correct to make the best rice!
• Every rice cooker is different so the cooking times may vary. I recommend to use the ‘white rice’ setting or the normal function to make this.

Recipe FAQs

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