Gyundon Recipe

Gyudon, literally translating to 'beef bowl' in Japanese is a popular meal across Japan now. Also known as gyūmeshi, this usually comprises a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with dashi, soy sauce and mirin. 

Considered to be a derivative of gyūnabe, a Japanese beef hot pot originating in Kanto region of eastern Japan. At this time, the cuts of beef were simmered with miso. Miso helped tenderise the meat as well as remove the foul smell. This had to be done since good-quality beef was hard to find in Japan before the Meiji era (1868-1912) due to the prevalence of Buddhism. But things changed in the late 1800's, the quality of meat improved, and miso was replaced by a combination of sugar or mirin and soy sauce. By 1890's, Gyundon became a hit in Tokyo, but it was yet to find similar acclaim elsewhere. For the longest time, it was seen as a food of the working class, but after the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, it became one of the readily available foods of the time, which further helped Gyundon scale new heights of popularity. It was also around this time that it evolved further in its present form, where it is served as a bowl of rice topped with thin slices of beef with onions.