One-Pot Rice Cooker Gyudon (Japanese Beef Bowl)

Ingredients

• 2 cup White rice (Short-grain Japanese rice preferred; rinsed until water runs clear)
• Water (Enough to reach the 2-cup line in the rice cooker after adding seasonings)
• 0.5 lb Thinly sliced beef (Ribeye or chuck, shabu-shabu or sukiyaki style)
• 0.5 Yellow onion (Medium size, thinly sliced into half-moons)
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce (Regular or dark soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp Mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 1 tbsp Sake (Cooking sake)
• 1 tbsp Sugar (White or brown sugar)
• 0.5 tsp Dashi powder (Instant dashi granules for extra umami)
• Green onions (Chopped, for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Rinse 2 cups of white rice in the rice cooker inner pot until the water runs mostly clear. Drain the excess water completely.

2. 2

   Add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and dashi powder directly into the pot with the rice. Stir slightly to combine the seasonings.

3. 3

   Add water to the pot until it reaches the '2-cup' water level line indicated on the inside of the rice cooker bowl. Give it a gentle stir to ensure the sugar is dissolved.

4. 4

   Layer the thinly sliced onions evenly over the top of the rice. Do not stir them in; let them sit on the surface.

5. 5

   Place the thinly sliced beef strips on top of the onions in a single, even layer. Spreading the beef out ensures it cooks evenly and doesn't clump together into a single block.

6. 6

   Close the rice cooker lid and select the 'Regular' or 'White Rice' setting. Press start and allow the machine to complete its cycle.

7. 7

   Once the rice cooker finishes, open the lid and use a rice paddle to gently fluff the rice, mixing the cooked beef and softened onions into the grains. The juices from the meat and onions will have seasoned the rice perfectly.

8. 8

   Serve the Gyudon in deep bowls, garnished with freshly chopped green onions and optionally pickled red ginger (benishoga) or a raw egg yolk.

Notes

For the best results, use very thinly sliced beef found in Asian grocery stores labeled for 'Hot Pot' or 'Sukiyaki'. If the beef is too thick, it may become tough during the rice cooker cycle. If you don't have sake, you can substitute with dry sherry or omit it, though the flavor will be slightly less authentic.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• beef
• rice cooker
• one-pot
• japanese
• easy dinner
• lazy cooking
• gyudon