Japanese · Lunch or dinner

Beef Niku Don (Beef Bowl)

Name: Beef Niku Don (Beef Bowl)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 lb thinly sliced beef, shabu-cut from butcher, or freeze and slice paper-thin; 1 cup water; 1 piece kombu, 3x3-inch piece; ¼ cup bonito flakes; ¼ cup soy sauce; 3 tbsp mirin; 2 tbsp sake; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 1½ cups white rice, rinsed; 3 scallions, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp pickled red ginger, for serving

Soy-mirin simmered beef, sweet onion, rice and pickled ginger.

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Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Makes: 4 servings
Skill: Beginner
Heat: Mild, adjustable

Halal Contains soy Contains gluten Contains fish

Maui says

The broth should soak INTO the rice - don't ladle stingily. That sweet-savory broth-on-rice layer is half the reason gyudon chains have a cult following.

Ingredients

Everything below makes 4 servings.

1 lbthinly sliced beefshabu-cut from butcher, or freeze and slice paper-thin
1 cupwater
1 piecekombu3x3-inch piece
¼ cupbonito flakes
¼ cupsoy sauce
3 tbspmirin
2 tbspsake
2 tbspsugar
1 largeyellow onionthinly sliced
1 tbspfresh gingergrated
1½ cupswhite ricerinsed
3scallionsthinly sliced
2 tbsppickled red gingerfor serving

In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.

Nutrition

Per serving, as written.

580calories
30gprotein
64gcarbs
20gfat

Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.

Instructions

Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.

Before you start

Start rice.
Slice onion thin (along the grain - holds shape better). Grate ginger. Slice scallions.
Wipe kombu with damp cloth.

Quick dashi

In a skillet combine 1 cup water and kombu. Heat to just-before-simmer (5-6 min); remove kombu. Bring to brief boil, add bonito, OFF heat, steep 2 min. Strain back into the same pan (it's quick - no need for a separate pot).

9 min · hands off

Build broth

Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, grated ginger. Simmer 3 min to let alcohol cook off.

3 min · hands on

Onion and beef

Add onion, simmer 4 min until just tender. Lay thin beef slices over the top, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon. Simmer 3-4 min until beef loses all pink. The broth should look amber and silky.

8 min · hands on

Bowl up

Scoop rice into bowls. Ladle beef and onion and spoonfuls of broth over the top - broth should soak the rice slightly. Shower with scallions, mound pickled ginger on the side.

1 min · hands on

Make it yours

Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.

Instead of thinly sliced beef Thinly sliced chicken thigh

Chicken takes 7-8 min in the broth instead of 4. Adds about 5 minutes.

Instead of thinly sliced beef Extra-firm tofu strips

Press tofu, slice into strips, simmer 3-4 min - soaks up broth fast. Saves about 2 minutes.

Instead of steamed white rice Brown rice

Start brown rice ~40 min ahead. Adds about 20 minutes.

Gluten free Tamari for soy sauce

What keeps

Niku don beef keeps 4 days, freezes 1 month. The flavor deepens overnight.

Store beef and onion together; rice separately to stop it going gummy.

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