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Gyudon

A bowl of steamed rice topped with simmered beef, sauce, soft boiled egg, pickled ginger, scallions, and shichimi seasoning.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Gyudon

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cover the eggs in boiling water and let them sit for 20 minutes so they are soft inside and not hard. Carefully peel off the shell.

  2. Boil the beef and drain the water.

Cook the beef and sauce

  1. Combine sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar in a frying pan. Stir over medium heat.

  2. Add the beef and cook. Before all the sauce evaporates, remove the beef.

  3. Add water, dashi, grated ginger, and onions to the sauce. Cover and boil. Mix in the beef.

Serve

  1. Put the steamed rice in a bowl and top with the sauced meat.

  2. Arrange the soft egg and pickled ginger on top. Top with scallions and shichimi seasoning.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

677Calories
39 gProtein
21 gFat
71 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Sake1 oz (30ml)39
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Onion + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,595 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,433 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Sake + gingertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together114 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Ginger + ricetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,196 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Soft-set yolk and white add richness and a creamy coating over the rice.
Beef
Provides the savory, tender meat that absorbs the sweet-salty sauce.
Soy sauce
Supplies salt and savory depth that defines the sauce's flavor.
Sugar
Balances the saltiness of the soy sauce and helps the sauce caramelize slightly.
Onion
Softens while simmering, adding sweetness and body to the sauce.
Mirin
Adds sweetness and gloss to the sauce.

The step that matters

Remove the beef before the sauce evaporates. Once the sauce reduces too far, the sugars can scorch and the beef becomes dry and tough. Removing the meat at the right moment keeps it tender, and it rejoins the sauce later.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, beef, sake, sugar, sauce, ginger, rice):

  1. Welsh onionfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Carrotfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, beef, sake, sugar, sauce, ginger, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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