Mar 06 2008
Gyudon Tonight
Ah, one of my true loves from Japan - Gyudon. Today I thought, well I like gyudon so much and I can’t just walk down the street and eat it at Suki-ya anymore so I might as well try making it. I reached some recipes on the internet and ended up using This One.
Well it turned out tasting alright (besides the dashi releasing an eye watering stink in our kitchen, perhaps I will talk about the smell issues with dashi at further length in a later entry). The two problems we had with it were it’s difficult to find the highly-marbled thinly sliced beef around here, and we didn’t have any sake. It seems like you really need the sake to make it taste just right. But otherwise I was so happy! I will be trying this again as soon as we can pick up a small bottle of sake.
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I actually love the smell of dashi broth cooking in the kitchen!
Another important component that is obviously missing (besides the tender Sukiyaki beef and Sake) in your Gyudon is the Beni Shoga, which is a red-colored pickled ginger. You need that! I show what that is in my recipe write-up that you followed.
If you can’t get thin-cut Sukiyaki beef at your local market, your next best option would be to buy a good quality choice-grade rib eye steak (everyone has that!), then put it in your freezer to harden it just enough (not rock hard!) where can cut it yourself using a sharp knife into really thin, bite-size strips. The quality and tenderness of the meat will really make a difference. So will the thin cut. It has to be tender from the get-go, as this is a quick-cooking method. This also helps the flavor of the broth absorb into the meat better.
All this talk about it makes me want to make it again!