Asia

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

March 18, 2020 by Grace Leave a Comment

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beef and onions simmering in a sauce — Easy AND Delicious Gyūdon Japanese Beef Bowl

We just returned from a once in a lifetime trip to Japan. We spent 3 weeks there and it was absolutely amazing! In addition to seeing some incredible places, we also had the opportunity to experience many Japanese foods. Some of these meals were in restaurants, but some took place in the AirBnb's in which we stayed. One of the meals in an AirBnb was particularly memorable - Easy and Delicious Gyudon!

I had wanted to cook a Japanese dish myself when in Japan, and my friend Makoto, of @kyushu.island.cooking on Instagram, came to the rescue!

Simple and Few Ingredients Needed!

This recipe for Gyudon, literally "beef bowl", is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with ingredients including sake, soy sauce and mirin. The finishing touch is some pickled ginger on top.

Thin beef, onion, sugar, sake, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, pickled ginger, rice — Ingredients for Gyūdon

This is Makoto's recipe, and she recommended that I make this dish. She took time to consider what meal may be easy for travelers to create and she steered me to Gyudon.

The ingredients for Easy and Delicious Gyudon are: thinly sliced beef, onion, ginger, sake, mirin, soy sauce, water, sugar, and some brightly colored pickled ginger as a garnish. 🙂 You can buy most of these ingredients in your local Asian grocery, or shop Amazon for pickled ginger, mirin, and soy sauce, as seen below.

Ginger and pickled ginger — Ginger and Pickled Ginger

Easy and Delicious Japanese Recipe!

Prep takes around 5 minutes. Cook time takes around 10 minutes. I used ready made rice that just needed heating up to keep things simple and voila! In around 15 minutes you will have a delicious beef dish served on top of rice (beef rice bowl) that your whole family will adore!

Gyudon on rice topped with pickled ginger in a bowl — Gyudon (Japanese beef bowl) served on top of rice! Absolutely delicious!

Whether traveling or not, you will absolutely love this Gyudon! Deliciously simmered beef in gorgeous spices and served over rice topped with pickled ginger. Enjoy!!!

I didn't have a Donburi bowl (Japanese rice bowl) to serve this in when I made it, but I think serving this dish in a Donburi bowl (such as the one below) would definitely enhance the experience. 🙂

You want to follow Makoto on Instagram at @kyushu.island.cooking! Please view this link for a trip to her blog! She shares incredible Japanese recipes and also hosts genuine cooking experiences in Kyushu Island!

Find her recipe and link to Makoto's blog here: https://japanese-food-cooking.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-to-make-gyudon.html

And join us for more food fun by signing up for our email list here. 🙂

You may also enjoy these other incredible Japanese dishes!

Yurinchi Chicken

Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

Makoto

Incredible bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with ingredients including sake, soy sauce and mirin. The finishing touch is some pickled ginger on top. What more do you need?! 🙂

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings servings

Ingredients

1 lb sliced beef (thin) you should be able to find this at your local Asian market
1 onion sliced thinly
4 in ginger peeled and sliced into thin strips
1.5 cups water or beef broth
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup sake
½ cup mirin
4 tablespoon sugar
pickled ginger for garnish - as much as you want!!

Instructions

Slice onion and ginger thinly.
Put sliced onion, ginger, sake, water, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce in pan, and put it over middle heat and bring it to boil
Add sliced beef, lower the heat, and boil it down for about 10 min.
Serve rice in a “Donburi” bowl, put simmered beef over it, and decorate the dish with some pickled ginger

Keyword beef bowl

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Cheers!


どうぞお召し上がりください

Dōzo omeshiagarikudasai (enjoy your meal in Japanese!)

Grace

Healthy and Nutritious Spicy Edamame!

October 2, 2019 by Grace Leave a Comment

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

1,000 Foods to Eat Project

The book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton lists edamame as one of the foods to eat. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about. I am working my way through these foods, and edamame is food #29 that I am posting about!

Edamame are young soy beans that are harvested before they are ripened or hardened. Spicy Edamame is my favorite way to eat edamame!

The first time I discovered edamame was at the cinema. They were offering this on their menu, I ordered, and happily shelled and munched my way through the film! These were salted edamame, and oh so delicious.

But I like SPICE. So I found a recipe for Spicy Edamame, from a Japanese restaurant here in San Antonio, which I tweaked a bit and let me tell you...I was in HEAVEN! These Spicy Edamame are absolutely addictive. They are bathed in a hot chili oil and ginger based sauce...need I say more?

I can sit and snack on these all day...and did I happen to mention that edamame is really good for you? Nutritionally sound..you can feel good about enjoying this most delicious and healthy snack, or side!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3D7LQxFv4P/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Hot Chili Oil and Ginger Sauce!

By the way you'll make more of the ginger based sauce than what is needed for this particular recipe. So you can use the extra ginger based sauce as a dipping sauce for veggies, or even mixed into some rice!

The ingredients include soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger, green onions, hot chili oil, and garlic. Before I made this I wasn't very familiar with mirin, but I learned that it is similar to sake. It's an essential ingredient in Japanese cooking with a lower alcohol content than sake but with a higher sugar content. I used Aji-Mirin by Kikkoman, which you can purchase here on Amazon.

You will also need some hot chili oil for this recipe. Amazon has a good selection of hot chili oils, including Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp (Chili Oil Sauce) and it even comes with a little spoon. 🙂

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp (Chili Oil Sauce)

I hope you'll give this absolutely delicious Spicy Edamame a try.

All credit for this recipe goes to former culinary arts student Anthony Santonastaso!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Cold Soba Noodles With Dipping Sauce

Soba noodles in a bowl, soba sauce in a bowl, and green onions, wasabi, grated daikon and chopsticks

Japanese Pickled Cucumber

Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts

1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

Please follow along with me on this quest to try the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! Visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page to view a list of the foods tried so far.

Edamame is #29 on my list of foods to try. 29 down, 971 to go!

If you'd like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂

Cheers! Grace

Spicy Edamame

Inspired by Sushihana's Restaurant's Spicy Edamame created by Anthony Santonastaso

This absolutely delicious and spicy edamame is perfect as a side or a snack! You can feel so good about eating this healthy and nutritionally sound food! Enjoy!

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Prep Time 12 mins

Cook Time 7 mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Japanese

Servings people

Ingredients

2 cups edamame can use frozen
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon hot chili oil I used Dynasty brand (Chinese style hot chili oil)

Ginger Sauce

¼ cup soy sauce I used Kikkoman
2 tablespoon mirin I used Aji-Mirin from Kikkoman
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 ts sugar
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1.5" piece ginger peeled and minced
4 green onions sliced
3 cloves garlic minced

Instructions

Prepare edamame if frozen. Cook according to package directions and leave aside.
Prepare your Ginger Sauce by combining soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger, green onions, and garlic.
Heat up the butter in a large pan on med high heat. Add the edamame and continually stir around 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the hot chili oil and 3 tablespoon of the Ginger Sauce.

Notes

Enjoy this deliciously sweet, salty, and spicy moreish snack!!! So good you'll be craving it time and time again! Please note you will have more than enough of the ginger sauce so you can use the residual as a dipping sauce for veggies or perhaps mixed into rice.

Keyword Edamame

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts

September 1, 2019 by Grace 12 Comments

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

One of my favorite spicy foods is Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts!

I honestly do not know when my taste buds turned toward spicy. My belief is that that some people just have a tendency toward highly spiced foods....and my husband and I are of this tendency.

This is a good thing for our marriage! So there is generally no fighting over whether to have spicy food or not. 🙂

Korean spicy bean sprouts can be considered banchan. I almost LOVE the banchan (Korean side dishes) more than I adore the main meal itself!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B17I4dClyIe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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How To Make Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl!

August 28, 2019 by Grace 2 Comments

Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl garnished with green onions and a piece of the pork cutlet held by chopsticks

My sister is Japanese, and when I told her I made Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl she mentioned that was her favorite. I'm so happy because now I can make Katsudon for her!

I'm going to Tokyo in March 2020 to participate in the marathon. I say "participate" rather than "run" because I'm totally incapable of running the whole thing! I am yearning to learn more about Japanese cuisine to prepare for this trip short term. Long term, I want to be able to impress my sister. 🙂

Where Does The Name "Katsudon" Come From And What Is It?

Katsudon is a very popular Japanese dish. It gets its name from "donburi" which means rice bowl dish, and "tonkatsu" which means pork cutlet.

So katsudon is a thin pork cutlet, breaded and fried. Later it will be added to a broth which is comprised of mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and dashi or chicken stock. Onions are cooked in this broth, and then the tonkatsu is placed on top of the onions. To finish, beaten egg is added around the tonkatsu and onions and cooked until set.

soy sauce chicken broth mirin eggs pork green onions and onion

The delicious tonkatsu and egg and onion mixture is then placed on top of steaming rice in a bowl, and voila! You have your incredible katsudon!

Katsudon in Japanese Culture

Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl garnished with green onions

So I discovered that this donburi was actually created by a Japanese high school student in the 1920's. It is considered a kind of comfort food in Japan, and it has become tradition for students to eat it the night before major exams, as the word "katsu" also means "to win." 🙂

Apparently there is also a connection between katsudon and Japanese police films. It seems that people believe that suspects will confess once they've eaten katsudon, so there are scenes in films discussing serving katsudon so that suspects will speak the truth. Check out this article called "Katsudon Confessions." 🙂

Katuson is Delicious Comfort Food!

Katsudon is delicious, whether eating before an exam, during interrogation, or when you desire some serious comfort food! You might find it a little fiddly to make when it comes to breading the pork cutlet, but overall it's super easy to create in your kitchen!

pork cutlets on a white plate one is dusted with flour and the others have pepper sprinkled on them. Bowl of beaten egg and bowl of flour in the background

The broth is a mixture of salty and sweet flavors, and the fried pork cutlet just simply satisfies. And egg? Who doesn't love egg as part of a meal!?

To conclude, I hope you will try this recipe for Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl! Your whole family will love it!!

You may also be interested in how to prepare a Japanese pickle, which are a mainstay of Japanese meals! Please see this recipe for an easy Japanese Pickled Cucumber, which is super light and refreshing.

Japanese Pickled Cucumber and chopsticks holding one up

Shokuji o o tanoshimi kudasai!!

食事をお楽しみ下さい！("Enjoy your food" in Japanese) 🙂

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

Okinawan Carrots

If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂

Cheers!

Grace

Japanese Katsudon and Rice Bowl

Grace

This delicious Japanese dish is serious comfort food! Breaded pork cutlets are fried and then served with egg over rice in a bowl with a sweet and savory broth! Your whole family will love it!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings people

Ingredients

½ lb thin cut pork loin chops approximately 4 each
4 eggs 1 for breading the pork, 3 reserved
3 tablespoon flour for dusting the cutlets
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup panko I used Kikkoman
¼ - ½ cup olive oil plus extra if needed
1 onion sliced thinly
3 ts mirin I used Aji-Mirin from Kikkoman
2 tablespoon soy sauce I used Kikkoman
¾ cup chicken broth
1 ts sugar
2 green onions sliced

Instructions

Add salt and pepper to both sides of your pork cutlets, and then dust lightly with flour.
Lightly beat one egg. Place in one container, and place the cup of panko in a separate container. Dip each cutlet into the egg, allowing the excess to run off. Then dip both sides into the panko, covering both sides with the bread crumbs. Thinly slice your onion and set aside.
Heat up your oil in a skillet (cast iron preferred) over medium high heat. You can start with ¼ cup of oil, and add additional if necessary. Once the oil is hot, place your cutlets into the skillet, and fry both sides for approximately 4-5 minutes each or until both sides are golden brown. Keep an eye on them and turn as necessary to prevent from burning. Once cooked drain on paper towels.
Turn the heat down to medium. Remove the pan from the heat source, and then scrape and remove the bits from your skillet (there is likely to be panko etc in the pan).
Make your broth: mix the chicken broth, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce together. Add to the skillet (after bits removed) and then add your onions, and allow to simmer for around 2-4 minutes until slightly softened.
In the meantime, take your drained pork cutlets, and slice them into pieces as in the image. Lightly beat the remaining 3 eggs.
Add the sliced pork cutlets to the top of the onions that are simmering in the broth. Then add the lightly beaten eggs to the skillet, pouring around the cutlets. Keep the heat around medium or medium low, and continue to cook until the egg is set. Cover the skillet to help it along.
That's it! Serve over hot steaming rice in a bowl and garnish with green onions!

Notes

Enjoy this delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon Rice Bowl anytime you desire some comfort food or a taste of Japan! Your whole family will love this yummy dish! Garnish with green onions, and perhaps serve with some sake. 🙂

Keyword katsudon, pork, ricebowl

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Classic and Super Simple Filipino Chicken Adobo

August 11, 2019 by Grace 6 Comments

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Here is an absolutely fantastic recipe for Filipino Chicken Adobo!

Filipino Chicken Adobo chicken thighs with bay leaves, smashed garlic, and black peppercorns in a white dish

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I am proud of my international family. I am Korean- American, and my husband is English-Norwegian. One of my sisters is Japanese. And my brothers in law are English, Hispanic, and Filipino.

So Roland, my Filipino brother-in-law, treats us to some amazing Filipino food at some of our family gatherings. Roland is a great cook and I really need to pick his brains more about Filipino food. And I yearn to learn more about this amazing cuisine!

What is Adobo?

I wanted to start off my exploration of Filipino cuisine with the classic Filipino Chicken Adobo. First off, chicken adobo is easy and simple to make, and is one of the most famous Filipino foods.

The word "adobo" comes from the Spanish word adobar which means marinate. Chicken adobo is chicken marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar.

The BEST Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe!

Certainly and thankfully I came across the BEST Filipino Chicken Adobo recipe on my first go! This recipe is from Marvin Gapultos, a Filipino American food blogger. Mr. Gapultos is bringing Filipino cuisine to a worldwide audience. I am grateful to Mr. Gapultos, who writes the blog Burnt Lumpia, for allowing me to publish his recipe in my post!

This chicken adobo recipe is from his book The Adobo Road Cookbook, which you can purchase on Amazon. And I really look forward to discovering more of his delicious Filipino recipes. Therefore I'll consult The Adobo Road Cookbook, as well as Burnt Lumpia!

Above all you will be amazed at the simplicity of this dish! For instance, there are very few ingredients in this recipe. And it comes together so beautifully. All you need is bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. That's it!

**Filipino Vinegar and Soy Sauce - Datu Puti Brand**

I would like to recommend Filipino Vinegar and Soy Sauce for the most authentic adobo experience! You can find a combo Filipino brand Datu Puti Soy Sauce and Vinegar pack here on Amazon.

So you must try this amazing recipe soon! In summary, enjoy this taste of the Philippines right in your own home!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime

Spicy Thai Chicken With Basil

Please sign up to get the latest recipes and culinary inspiration! Also come along with my on the 1,000 Foods to Eat Journey by signing up here. 🙂

Cheers!

Grace

Classic Chicken Adobo

Marvin Gapultos

This amazingly delicious Filipino Chicken Adobo is beautiful in its simplicity! Enjoy this served with plenty of white rice and garnished with green onions!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Filipino

Servings people

Calories 38 kcal

Ingredients

¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup white Filipino cane vinegar, or distilled white vinegar
6-8 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knife and peeled
1 ts whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in

Instructions

Place the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves in a large, nonreactive sauté pan, and then nestle the chicken thighs, skin side down, into the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, and then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over, and then cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Uncover the pan, and then increase the heat to high and return the sauce to a boil. While occasionally turning and basting the chicken, continue boiling the sauce, uncovered, until it is reduced by half and thickens slightly, 5–7 minutes. Serve with steamed white rice.
Variations: While the sauce is reducing, transfer the chicken thighs, skin side up, to a foil-lined sheet pan. Brown the chicken thighs underneath the broiler for 3–5 minutes.
Use freshly ground black pepper instead of whole peppercorns.
For a “drier” chicken adobo, you can reduce the sauce until it is almost completely evaporated. The chicken will then begin to fry in its own fat that is still left in the pan. This is how my grandmother finishes her adobo.
For a saucier adobo, double the amount of soy sauce and vinegar.
To make this adobo as an appetizer, use 2 lbs (1 kg) of chicken wings instead of thighs.

Notes

You will absolutely love this adobo! Garnish with green onions and serve with plenty of white rice for a taste of the Philippines!

Nutrition

Calories: 38kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 6gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 3240mgPotassium: 137mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 18IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Chicken, Chicken Adobo

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Quick and Easy Cucumber Kimchi

July 12, 2019 by Grace Leave a Comment

Cucumber kimchi with cut up cucumbers, onions, and green onions in a bowl with chopsticks laying on the bowl.

When life gives you cucumbers, make Quick and Easy Cucumber Kimchi!

A good friend of mine has an incredible green thumb! I am so fortunate to often be on the receiving end of that green thumb. The other day, she kindly brought me some amazing home grown cucumbers, chives, peppers, and perilla (sesame) leaves, which are all perfect for Korean banchan. So I'm so excited to be making some awesome Korean side dishes over the next few days!

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Easy and Delicious Spicy Chicken With Thai Basil

July 9, 2019 by Grace Leave a Comment

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

Chicken With Thai Basil served with rice and pair of chopsticks holding up the chicken

Do you like Thai hot? Then you will LOOOOVE this recipe for Spicy Chicken With Thai Basil!

Thai cuisine is one of my absolute favorite cuisines in the world. The complex flavors and fresh ingredients captivate me. Fortunately, my husband loves Thai as well, but he likes his dishes "Thai hot."

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Korean Fried Chicken (Yangnyeom Dak)- 1,000 Foods to Eat Project

May 27, 2019 by Grace Leave a Comment

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

Korean Fried Chicken is also known as KFC. I love that! I also love this CRISPY, sweet, spicy, and garlicky fried chicken (Yangnyeom Dak). It's definitely yummy. 🙂

The typical way it is served in Korea is with cold beer (essential!) and pickled radishes, such as daikon.

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The BEST and Easiest Korean Bok Choy Kimchi!

May 13, 2019 by Grace 15 Comments

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about delicious Korean Bok Choy Kimchi!

Bok choy kimchi — Korean Bok Choy Kimchi

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I loooove Korean banchan. Banchan is actually my favorite part of a Korean meal. Give me banchan, chopsticks, and rice and I am haaapy!! 🙂 Kimchi is a banchan, and one of the best kimchi's is Bok Choy Kimchi.

Banchan are the side dishes that accompany Korean meals. They are actually an essential part of the meal. If you've ever been to a Korean restaurant, you'll know the feeling of excitement as they bring out various banchan. 🙂

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How To Make Incredible Marinated Korean Perilla Leaves!

May 7, 2019 by Grace 2 Comments

All I need is a bowl of rice, some chopsticks, and marinated perilla leaves to be happy. 🙂

Korean perilla leaves, also known as sesame leaves, are a very popular banchan in Korean cuisine. Banchan, or side dishes, are an essential part of Korean meals. They are brought out in small portions, meant to be shared, and served with rice.

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Asia

Simple and Few Ingredients Needed!

Easy and Delicious Japanese Recipe!

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

1,000 Foods to Eat Project

Hot Chili Oil and Ginger Sauce!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

Spicy Edamame

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Ginger Sauce

Instructions

Notes

Where Does The Name "Katsudon" Come From And What Is It?

Katsudon in Japanese Culture

Katuson is Delicious Comfort Food!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Japanese Katsudon and Rice Bowl

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

What is Adobo?

The BEST Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Classic Chicken Adobo

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients