Remember that time I got paid to spend the entire summer in Japan in college (Camp Adventure, woot!) and gained like, 15lbs from drinking too much Peach Chu-Hi and eating WAY too many gyoza? I do.
Well there’s something else to blame for all the weight I packed onto my short little frame in 3 short months – Yoshinoya Beef Bowls. OH YES!
Yoshinoya is a fast-casual restaurant chain in Japan that’s famous for its beef bowls containing white rice and piles of thinly shaven, tender beef on top. Sounds weird – taste AMAZING.
(source)
They’re pretty much everywhere and you can get in and out in under 15 minutes, making it ideal for stopping in for a quick lunch, bite after work, nosh after the bars…
I was incredibly Japan-sick after I returned at the end of that summer, and vowed to recreate the dish I loved so much at home so I could have it anytime I wanted. Using only 6 low-fuss ingredients, I think I got pretty close!
Start by bringing beef broth, soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, mirin, and a little sugar to a boil.
This is mirin, by the way. It’s a Japanese cooking wine that you can get at any grocery store these days.
After the liquid is boiling, add in sliced onions.
Let them cook until they’re tender, about 5 minutes.
Finally, add in very thinly sliced beef loin. I’ve had my butcher do the slicing for me before, otherwise just pop the beef into the freezer until it hardens, then slice it. Unlike my thighs that summer, the thinner the better!
Since the beef is sliced so thin, it literally takes a minute to cook in the hot broth. It’s kind of like Pho in this way.
Pile the tender beef and onion slices over fluffy white rice, drizzle with some sauce, and you are set my friend!
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Copycat Yoshinoya Beef Bowls
Description
Copycat Yoshinoya Beef Bowls taste just like the popular fast food beef bowl recipe from Japan!
Ingredients
- 1-1/3 cup beef broth
- 5 Tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free tamari (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
- 3 Tablespoons mirin
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1lb beef, sliced very thin (I used top sirloin)
- white rice
Directions
- Bring beef broth, soy sauce, mirin and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and add onions. Cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add beef slices into the broth and cook until just barely done, about 1-2 minutes. Serve over white rice.
Notes
- Tip: to slice beef or chicken thin, place into the freezer until nearly frozen, then cut.
- Chicken version: substitute 1lb chicken breast for beef, use chicken broth instead of beef broth
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
The sauce in this dish is so delicate. Neither salty, nor sweet – it is just right. Umami? Mixed with the melt-in-your-mouth beef and onions, I am sent straight back to the counter at my local Yoshinoya with just one bite.
Don’t fear, beef haters, this recipe tastes awesome made with chicken broth instead of beef broth, and using sliced chicken breast instead of beef. Throw some broccoli or edamame in there, and you’ll be in Heaven!
Ugh, now I kind of want to read Memoirs for a Geisha. My copy is completely tattered from reading it nearly 5 dozen times after I returned home from Japan at the end of that summer. It’s funny how you can build such a strong connection with a place in such a short amount of time. I could easily move there tomorrow and call it home!
Kate 11.21.2011
Yay! I lived in Japan for 4 years after college and LOVE Japanese food, but have also become a Grade A Japanese food snob as a result. It was THE time of my life, and I dream about it most days…sigh.
Good work on the Yoshinoya – did you try anything else when you were there? takoyaki? Okonomiyaki? Where were you exactly?
Kendall 11.21.2011
Yum! Looks delicious and so easy to make! That could definitely become one of my go to end-of-a-long-day dinner recipes!
And I am currently living in Germany. We’ve been here for over two years now, and have about two years left. My husband is in the Air Force and this is where they sent us! Once the culture shock wore off, I was definitely able to enjoy Germany much better! It truly is a beautiful place. I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.
Jennie 11.21.2011
This looks delish.
I studied in Mexico twice and met my husband there. Oh to be back with a corona in hand enjoying an afternoon in the zocalo…
Maddie 11.21.2011
Ugh this makes me want real Japanese food. I’ve still been meaning to make ramen with soba noodles with all of the seaweed and chili oil in it… haven’t gotten around to it yet. I also wish that there was some ice cream place that produced Beni Imo! That stuff was like crack.
Kayren 11.21.2011
I did Camp Adventure, too!!!! What a great program! I spent one summer in Seoul, Korea (at Yongsan) and one summer in Japan also (in Atsugi). They were both awesome experiences!
Karina 11.21.2011
I studied abroad in Vienna, Austriafor five months in 2007, and then returned to southern Austria for a month this last summer. Austria is one of my favorite countries in the world. Summer-great for drinking white wine (Austria is famous for their Rieslings), and sitting outside in the Wachau wine valley. Fall-the new wine comes out, called Sturm, and it gets you really happy really quickly, and the Austrians love to sit outside in the restaurant vineyards (Heuriger) and drink the new wine and party. Winter-Christkindlmarkts are these outdoor Christmas markets where they sell crafts, hot alcoholic beverages, gingerbread, appetizers, and they have them in all the main plazas decorated with beautiful Christmas lights….oh, Austria is so wonderful. I miss it so much! You would probably really like it Kristen!
That being said, they eat alot of meat in Austria. I got tired of meat being every meal’s main event. Also, I got tired of the weird meatless bready but somehow still soggy ‘souffles’ they served when I tried to order vegetarian entrees. :p But that may have just been the catering at the place I lived this last summer….
Jane 11.21.2011
Wouldn’t you laugh your butt off if your old boss read your blog and didn’t realize you were talking about her!! :d
Iowa Girl Eats 11.21.2011
She’d *totally* know I was talking about her! She even knows what a nut case she is (she just doesn’t care!)
Allyson Jo 11.21.2011
Looks so good, I think I will try this sometime this week! I love to travel! Especially while being so young!
Lindsey 11.21.2011
I went on a 3 week exchange to France in high school but that is about it. I would have loved to stayed longer and actually gone to school there now but at the time I didn’t see it like that.
I had a boss that used to nap under her desk and actually lay on the floor and throw temper tantrums! It was crazy now that I think back to it – and it was only a few years ago!
Grace 11.21.2011
There’s tons of Yoshinoya’s in California! It is just as delicious in CA as it is in Taiwan (the only other place I’ve had Yoshinoya). :)
I had a boss who kept calling me by my coworker’s name (Christina), and called Christina my name. She sometimes got it right but usually didn’t. We both happen to be Asian but that’s where the physical similarities stop – its pretty hard to get us mixed up. And when she got corrected, either by one of us or one of our other coworkers, she said it didn’t make a difference since, “we’re all the same.” She didn’t have any trouble with any of the other staff’s names, just us Asians… Needless to say, I didn’t stay in that job long.
Cindee 11.21.2011
That looks amazing! I just found Mirin for a teriyaki dish, now I’m going to have to try this.
As for crazy bosses, mine was the craziest. Worked for him for 15 years and there wasn’t a day that went by that we all rolled our eyes and went with it. Crazy!
Mara @ What's For Dinner? 11.21.2011
OK, so i’ve been reading you in my google reader at work for months now, and i just clicked over today… the site redesign looks AMAZING!!!! I love it!!!
Lindsay @ biking before bed 11.21.2011
Studying abroad were my favorite parts of college by far. I was lucky that my school had a winter session so you could study abroad for 5-6 weeks without missing an entire semester. My winters in Greece and Ecuador were both amazing!
ana 11.21.2011
I’ve been to Costa Rica and Mexico twice but never for more than a week – still awesome experiences! This looks awesome. You should give us a pho recipe some time :) I can’t imagine eating it every day, though!
Lyn @ FueledBySalad 11.21.2011
There’s a whole load of Yoshinoya outlets in Singapore, but I’ve never gone to any of them primarily because everyone I know says that it isn’t worth it. :( The recipe looks so simple though! I’d love to try it with minced chicken or something.
Katrina 11.21.2011
I felt the same way after returning from a visit to Europe. I was heavy into English lit and obsessed with Ann Rice. I reread my copies of the vampire chronicles over and over. All my studying and living has been stateside…which accounts for my unhealthy addiction to good ol’ southern food. . . and the status of my thighs.
Kelly 11.21.2011
Oh Camp Adventure, my roommate had many stories from her Summer in Germany with them. I kind of wish I could go, but at least I’ll get to be abroad this summer, I’m PUMPED!
Hmm, as for bosses, my two bosses just incredibly unprofessional. Good times.
Stephanie 11.21.2011
I studied abroad for one month in the summer in Costa Rica! I took classes during the week in the capital, but the weekends were free to travel places :) I lived with a Costa Rican family, too, which was cool!
As for crazy bosses, I worked at an ice cream store one summer/fall, and though the boss was kind-hearted she also had a temper, and yelled at us for making our ice cream cones “too big”!
By the way, love the new site design!
Stephanie 11.21.2011
Oh yeah, also studied/had fun in France for two weeks in high school :D A week in Paris + a week in southern France living with a host family = bliss
Kelsey 11.21.2011
did you get a new camera or a new lens? or something to make your photos look different?! it’s all beautiful!
Iowa Girl Eats 11.21.2011
I did! Still learning how to use it AND deal with the darkness at 4:30pm!
CherubMamma 11.21.2011
This sounds absolutely delish! I’m going to have to try it soon. And with the onions being so soft like that, my cherubs might actually eat them too. :)
I never got to study abroad. However, due to where I live in the country — I FEEL like I’m living in a different country right now!
As for boss stories, I could totally hijack your blog comments with stories from the years I worked for Satan himself.