Gyūdon (Beef rice bowl)

Gyūdon is essentially a bowl of rice topped with beef and onions in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with soy sauce and mirin. It also often includes shirataki (shredded konnyaku) and is usually served with beni shoga (pickled ginger), both of which are still difficult to find in Southern Spain, where I live. Gyū means "cow" or "beef", and don is short for donburi, the Japanese word for "bowl". Gyūdon can be found in many Japanese restaurants, and in several fast food chains specializing exclusively in this dish.
The taste for eating beef started to develop in the Meiji era, in the "civilization and enlightenment" period (Bunmei Kaika). Yukichi Fukuzawa, a political theorist and the founder of one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, was a lover of the newly imported meat. It is said that he used to bring beef to his students who could not afford it themselves, serving it to them with tofu, konnyaku and eggs.
This recipe is still used today and is now called gyūnabe. This gyūnabe can be mixed with white rice, and is then called gyūdon. The basic concept of gyūdon is rice in a bowl, topped with leftover gyūnabe. It's intriguing to realize that Yukichi Fukuzawa ate gyūdon without ever knowing how hugely popular it would become with future generations!

Beef was abundant in that era, but recently the situation has been different. The growing fear of mad cow disease prompted the Japanese government to ban American beef, and the two nations have been in negotiation. Gyūdon vendors have been struggling to obtain beef, some using Australian beef and others serving a similar dish made with pork.
Fortunately, the ban was lifted as of September 2006, and gyūdon lovers are celebrating beef's return, appreciating the distinctive taste that had been out of reach for more than two years (News:http://www.japantimes.co.jp/weekly/news/nn2006/nn20060923a5.htm). As I live outside Japan, several gyūdon ingredients are not available to me. Nevertheless I have to remember that I am still lucky to have free access to beef!

This enthusiasm for gyūdon is very particular among the Japanese, compared with other cultures. And it may be one of the main factors in their longevity. As of 2005, the average life expectancy in Japan was 78.53 years for men and 85.49 for women. In comparison, in 1947 it was 50.1 and 54.0 years. This shows how dramatically longevity has increased among the Japanese population.
Good health and longevity are closely related to one's dietary intake. In the past, the typical Japanese diet relied heavily on rice as a staple food. Beef as an added source of protein first began to become common in our daily meals in the 1950s, and has helped us toward greater nutritional balance. Beef and other introduced foods have increasingly been incorporated into meals and side dishes.. Beef is particularly high in Vitamin B12 and zinc, promoting growth and preventing colds.

Oh, as I write this article, the salty-sweet smell is wafting in from the kitchen... I can't help but have some right now while it's hot! Finding an authentic deep rice bowl may not be easy, but the taste surely will not suffer for that. So fear not! You can have fun and enjoy your own gyūdon too!

Written by Yuko Tamaki-Welply
A member of TranNet and freelance translator based in Southern Spain

♦ INGREDIENTS
(4 servings)

T   = tablespoon
t    = teaspoon
c   = cup

4 c     steamed Japanese rice
400 g  thinly sliced beef
1        onion
1 1/3 c  dashi soup      >>>  Check the Recipe of Soup Stock!
4 t      soy sauce
1 t      mirin
1 t      sake
2 t      sugar

♦ PREPATATION

1. Cook Japanese rice.
2. Slice onion thinly. Cut beef into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cover the bottom of a frying pan with oil. Add onion slices and stir-fry them.
4. Add pieces of beef to the pan and stir-fry them until the meat changes color.
5. Put dashi soup, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in the pan and simmer for a few minutes.
6. Serve hot steamed rice in a deep rice bowl. Top the rice with the beef mixture. Garnish with benishoga (red ginger) if you like.