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!
Keyser Soze' 07.03.2019
My gf LOVES Yoshinoya & we go there when @ Six Flags or Vega$ (not anymore unfortunately….gone) and I stumbled upon this recipe while searching for locations (going to Vega$ soon) & I made it for dinner that night. She said it DOES taste like Yoshinoya! THANK YOU for posting this otherwise we woulda never had it again unless going to Six Flags (which is ok…both ways). Gonna make it again when her son returns from vaca (he like Yoshinoya too!)THX AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kristin 07.08.2019
So, so happy to hear this story, Keyser! Thanks for your feedback and recipe review!
Melanie Dunham 04.18.2019
Grew up in Denver Colorado and those fast food restaurants was our favorite place to go. You’ve got to make to appreciate. Thank you
Syn Davis 07.15.2018
Thank you! This is one meal we missed when we moved from California.
Thomas Moxham 03.20.2018
I made this. I bought super thin meat. I couldn’t have cut it thinner myself. However it felt tough when I was done. Tougher than yoshinoya. So I threw it in the pressure cooker on high for additional 20 min and it was amazing. Perfection. Maybe I’ll do 30min next time. Maybe I’ll take out all or part of the onions before I cook the meat so they don’t get pressure cooked. Thanks for the recipe.
Paul 10.23.2017
We just came back from China and ate yoshinoya beef bowl all over the place. My 7 year old was heart broken that we couldn’t get it New Zealand. I made your copycat recipe and he gave it a 10 out of 10 compared to the original. Thanks
Paul 03.07.2017
I spent two years in japan and all i want is beef bowl and cocos ichibanya curry thanks so much for this recipe any chance you know a recipe to make coco’s?
Kristin 03.07.2017
Darn it, unfortunately I don’t! I never had it during my time over there!
Jennifer 09.02.2019
We buy chicken breaks and pound it flat. We place in flour, then egg wash and then into panko bread crumbs. We fry ours in olive oil. You can get curry at the local grocery store or the commissary. It’s in a box. We add carrots and potatoes to our curry sauce and pour over the chicken and sticky rice. Very easy to make.
Joanna 10.04.2015
Thanks for this recipe! I had a craving for one and came across your site. I used the frozen angus philly cheesesteak meat instead and was just as good! Yum :-)
Cook 09.18.2015
I recognize that this is a very old post; you may or may not see current responses. If so, here is mine:
I’ve been chasing formulas for this dish for years! If you have modified yours since 2011, I’d love to know how. As much as I like this ‘guy-don,’- like dish, perfect honesty requires me to to declare that my principal reason for making it is as a vehicle for Kizami-style pickled ginger. (I’d put it on breakfast cereal if my partner would allow it.) Unfortunately, this ginger is difficult to find, miserably expensive when found and I limp along with little I can find. Just for the record, this is NOT the thinly sliced, light pink ‘sushi’ ginger that is very easy to to find. And as expected, the folks at Yoshinora (Beef Bowl) and their presumed ginger supplier, JFC, Inc., decline all requests for links or details. If you have any suggestions, I’d sure like to hear them.
-Craig
aka cook@peak.org
Kristin 09.18.2015
I still use this one!! I was 19 when I lived in Japan and wasn’t very adventurous in the food department yet, so unfortunately I’ve never tried the ginger. I’ll give it a go the next time I go back!
Lina 05.29.2020
What kind of soy sauce u use
Rita 09.10.2015
Thank you so much for this recipe – alot of the ones online include dashi powder and sake etc…. yours was so simple and i tried it tonight and it really tastes like Yoshinoya!
My husband was one happy man! Thank you again :)
Yoshinoya Beef Bowl | Beauty & Brain 07.28.2014
[…] Source: https://iowagirleats.com/2011/11/21/japanese-fast-food-at-home/ […]
Kimberly 04.19.2014
I went to Wal-Mart to get the Aji-Mirin they didn’t have it just a head’s up I’m in D’Iberville,Ms. Making this tonight!!
Adam 04.04.2014
Yoshinoya is totally disgusting. The bowls are 90% rice and the meat is some thin sliced, highly salty mystery meat.
Susana 04.04.2014
Would you happen to know the chicken bowl recipe? Anyone?
Xephyr 11.30.2013
Thanks for the recipe, it was great!! :) Simple, easy, and delicious!
Dissapointed 10.22.2013
I made this recipe as per your instructions and it tasted nothing like Yoshinoya’s beef bowl.
Christina 06.06.2013
Excellent recipe! My son is addicted to Yoshinoya beef bowls. I tried your recipe and he said it’s “pretty close” and he has devoured the whole thing (1lb of beef) over white rice within a day!
One thing I did differently is that instead of slicing my own beef, I just went to our local Marukai (I’m in California) and bought ribeye shabu-shabu (thinly pre-sliced beef), so my entire preparation time took no more than 10 minutes.
For shabu-shabu, I suspect if you don’t have Japanese grocery stores near by, you could try Korean or Chinese supermarkets.
thank you!!
meghan 01.02.2013
Omg, so glad I found this page, even if no one posted in over a year. Yoshinoya was my saving grace in Japan as I didn’t like sushi back then lol I simply can’t wait to make this dish… Hopefully they will open one in Toronto sometime in the near future! Thank you so much for this!!!
Karl Bishop 12.13.2012
I lived in Denver many years ago and in the 70’s there was a restaurant chain called Beef Bowl. I loved it and they went out of business. I have always wondered how to duplicate it but never tried, but really wouldn’t know where to start.
Anyway, after all these years I thought this morning that I would Google it and see what I could find. I had no idea that this was such a popular dish. I know what we are having for dinner tonight and I already have most of the ingredients including the pickled ginger, the best part. Wow. Thanks
Karl Bishop
Ariel 11.20.2012
Thanks for explaining how to do this. I’m stationed in Texas where there is absolutely NO YOSHINOYA! I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
Joy 11.12.2012
My husband and I live in Japan right now and love the beef bowls! I have been wanting to cook this at home so thanks so much for the recipe! Will be trying this tomorrow!
Iowa Girl Eats 11.12.2012
That is so awesome!! Hope you enjoy them! What part of Japan do you live in?
Joy 11.15.2012
We live in Northern Kyoto Prefecture in a place called Maizuru. The recipe is amazing! Yummy!! We loved it!
Iowa Girl Eats 11.15.2012
So glad you enjoyed!! :)