Rika's Tokyo Cuisine: Gyudon Beef Bowl - Dining with the Chef

Hello everyone and welcome to Dining with the Chef. I do the dining, I'm Patrick Harlan, and the chef is... I'm Rika Yukimasa. Excellent. So what's on the menu today, Rika? Gyudon. Gyudon! Yes. Gyu means beef, don means bowl of rice. It's so good. It's popular in family homes, of course, but it's also popular outside, especially in fast food restaurants. And some of these restaurants are going abroad, making gyudon popular around the world. Exactly. Well, gyudon calls for thinly sliced meat. Very thinly sliced beef. Yeah, very thinly, yeah. It's important for it to be thin. Yes. Why is that? Well, if it's thin meat, it absorbs the flavorful sauce. Okay. So even if you can't find a thinly sliced meat in your supermarket, just get a chunk of beef. She'll teach you how to thinly slice it, and we'll make amazing gyudon here. Okay, and what's on the side? Coleslaw, Japanese style. Japanese style coleslaw. Sounds fascinating. Let's get started. Tokyo, an Asian city that is the largest metropolis in the world. A place where old Japan and a futuristic landscape come together. The food scene here is all about fusion. You can enjoy Asian dishes and flavors of the world every single day. Our host is culinary expert, Rika Yukimasa. And our co-host is Patrick Harlan, also known as Pak-kun. Rika's Tokyo Cuisine. Today, Chef Rika's original take on an international favorite, Gyudon Beef Bowl. The secret to a delicious Gyudon is to allow the thinly sliced beef to absorb the sweet and savory sauce. Made mainly from soy sauce and sugar, Rika adds an extra touch. thinly sliced ginger. This gives the rich soy sauce flavor of her gyudon a refreshing zesty kick. Her recipe features a variety of toppings including a poached egg, benishoga, and shiso leaves. Enjoy a variety of flavors in a single bowl. We're ready to operate. So the important thing is to get your beef sliced thinly so it absorbs the flavor and makes it more like authentic gyudon. So, how thin do we want it? So here is what we have. When you go to the Japanese meat market, this is the, you know, thin, as thin as this. Wow. It's almost like prosciutto, like Italian ham, which is almost, you can almost see through it. So thin, paper thin. So this they're doing with a machine, not, you can't really replicate that at home. In Japan, beef is sometimes sold in slices that are just one to two millimeters thick beef this thin is rarely sold overseas so what's the alternative let's see how close we can get what's the secret well first of all you need to freeze the beef freeze the beef yes this is like one to two hours okay if you go to the store and buy a chunk of frozen meat will it be too hard well if it's frozen it's too hard You can touch it and you can poke the finger right? It's not frozen solid It's just cold. Okay, and you freeze it and you cut as thin as possible Like this. Oh, that is pretty thin. Yes Freeze a block of meat for about two hours and then slice the slightly hardened meat as thinly as possible So you cut as thin as possible like this Yeah, I was amazed when I went to the meat shop For the first time overseas. Mm-hmm. You don't have this thinly sliced meat. No, it's very There are some like sandwich meats Ham or turkey which are sliced very thinly they don't sell them for you to cook with they just sell them for you to put On bread. Yeah. So what you do gives me a piece here. What's this for? Yes. So this Stop pounding like this. Oh! And if you use... It's a meat tenderizer. Right. Once you've sliced it as thin as possible, pound it with a meat tenderizer until it's even thinner. Pounding the meat tenderizes it and evens the thickness. Thinner, flatter. Yes. Wow. Great. This relieves a lot of stress. Yes. And then you have almost same as Japanese sliced meat. And you did that in your own home. That's amazing. Yes, yes. Why not try making thinly sliced beef at your house? Now, let's prep the onions and ginger. So gyudon, gyu, is beef. Yes. But onions are also an important part, right? Right. It gives the sweetness. So how do we prepare them? Well, this one is easy, like one centimeter slices. So not thin like beef thin. Right. Onion will absorb this gyudon sauce. And it's going to get really sweet and very savory. Cut the onions into rings about one centimeter thick. They will absorb the sauce while simmering and soften slightly. Thicker slices retain more texture and taste better. So, make the slices fairly thick. Next, slice the ginger. Not every gyudon requires ginger, but I like to add ginger. Okay. Yes, we have beni shoga pickled ginger colored red. It's beautiful It goes on the top of gyudon a lot, right? But this is different. This is regular ginger, right? This is my recipe It requires a good bit of ginger to add some really nice aroma Okay, so we're gonna cook with this Okay, use a slicer to cut the ginger to about one millimeter thick even when thinly sliced It has a pleasant crunch which contrasts nicely with the tender beef and onions and then this ginger Absorb really flavorful sauce and then ginger kind of like infuses the flavor and aroma To the sauce, the ginger adds even more aroma and flavor Okay Excellent. Now, what are we making? We're making the sauce. We have the ingredients for the sauce sugar, soy sauce, mirin and sake which is Japanese rice wine and then water so easy way to remember is three S&M, three S&M the three S's are sugar, soy sauce and sake and the M is mirin and these are all the same amount right that makes it super easy to remember, use the same amount of soy sauce, sugar, sake and And mirin. Mix them in a bowl. If you don't have mirin, add extra water and a bit more of sugar. Okay. Mirin is sort of like a sweet sake, okay? Mm-hmm. And then water. Mix until the sugar granules have dissolved. Basically, not only you can make gyudon out of this, you can also cook sukiyaki or... Is teriyaki the same? Yes. The portion is a little bit different. Right. So if you want to do Japanese cooking, get your hands on S and M, and then wrap your brain around it. It's really easy to apply to many different recipes. Now that the ingredients and sauce are ready, let's start cooking. Before turning on the heat, place the ginger and onions in a frying pan, then add the sauce. And then you want to turn the heat on, and you want to first make onions soft. So why do we do the onions first and then the meat? Onion takes longer time to cook. Okay. And because it's thinly sliced, it's not going to take that long to cook. So you want to make sure that onion is softer. So you put the lid on and then cook for a while. Great. You don't want to overcook your meat, for sure. Cover with a lid and simmer until the onions soften. This draws out their natural sweetness. after five minutes see once it gets softer like this yeah it gives you the sweetness mmm it's really nice texture too yes so we add this thinly sliced beef and cook till it's done add the thinly sliced beef and simmer gently over low heat and we simmer and then the water will evaporate okay we'll just see how it goes well we won't thicken up too much okay so I would say like on the low heat about seven minutes okay total for onions five minutes meat like seven Okay, so 12 total. Okay. Well, see you in seven minutes. Simmer gently for seven minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Otherwise, you'll end up with tough meat. It looks amazing. Yes. Ready to go? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. All right. Mm. The main ingredients for the gyudon look so good. Before plating, let's prepare the toppings. This time, we'll be adding an egg. So next we have an egg. Here in Japan, we add just a raw egg on top of the gyudon, which is great. It's delicious. But we don't see raw eggs that much outside of Japan. No, because it has to be pasteurized completely. So the raw eggs here are all pasteurized, so it's very safe. But outside the country, if you can't find a raw egg, but you still want egg on gyudon, what should you do? We make the poached egg. We just add a bit of vinegar. add vinegar to boiling water and you mix it really well vinegar helps to coagulate the egg white really yes oh it helps keep it together so it doesn't spread out right interesting and then you make these circle and then with in the center you add this oh because it forms a vortex to also keep the egg together. That's so smart. It's physics. Mm-hmm. Here's an extra tip from Chef Nika. Keep stirring the water, even after adding the egg. This creates a whirlpool in the center that helps gather the egg white and keeps it from spreading out. And then you cook for, like, you can turn off the heat and put the lid, and then it will be cooked in four minutes. Okay. So you cook with residual heat. Yes. Once it is half set, turn off the heat and allow it to cook for 4 minutes using residual heat. If you don't turn off the stove, the bubbling water may cause the egg white to peel away. To 4 minutes. I guess it's ready. That was quick and easy. Yeah, isn't it? Look how beautiful. Yeah. And you put in the cold water. Okay. If you turn, isn't that perfectly beautiful? It is. Wow. It's the tornado theory. theory. I love it. It's so easy. For another topping, we'll use shiso leaves, an essential Japanese herb. Roll seven or eight shiso leaves together and cut them into fine shreds. Wrap them in a paper towel and squeeze firmly to remove any excess moisture. This aerates the shreds and fluffs them up so they're easier to use as a topping. Okay, so we've got our udon, we've got our egg. All we need is a plate in a bowl of rice. Let's plate it. To make rice, rinse it and cook with the correct amount of water. Once it's cooked, let it steam for about 10 minutes. That looks so good. So what do we do? We place the freshly cooked rice here in a bowl. This rice soaks up all of the yummy sauce from the gyudon. And after the meat's gone, the rice is still amazing. Yeah, and place the gyudon, gyuniku, on top. Generously top with gyuniku, the beef, and tamanegi, the onion. Sweet tamanegi on top. Add some ginger. Sliced ginger, nice. Drizzle with sauce to taste. The rice coated in sauce is so good. Place a bit of sauce and top with this benishoga. Which is also ginger. So we have ginger in the cooking process and as a nice accent on top. Look how pretty. Yes. Okay. Beni Shoga is an essential topping for gyudon. It's so popular. It's ginger pickled in umezu, the red vinegar produced when making umeboshi. A popular topping, it also makes for a delicious tempura. It also adds flavor to takoyaki, a dish that has become extremely popular in Japan. After cooling a poached egg in water, pat it dry with paper towels. Place the egg on top and garnish with the vibrant green shiso leaves. Beautiful. Oh, it's a balancing act. Perfect. Are you done? Yes. Gyudon is ready. It's a picture-perfect bowl of steaming hot meat and onions. That's gyudon. Gyudon is hugely popular, and there are many different varieties. Benishoga and eggs, as in this recipe, is a classic combination. Alternative toppings include melted cheese. Kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish of pickled vegetables, is also very popular. A mound of chopped Japanese green onion is great, too. Grated daikon radish gives a refreshing flavor. If you're ever in Japan, be sure to try gyudon with different toppings. Next, Japanese-style coleslaw. It's a colorful dish with shredded cabbage, cucumber, and faux crab sticks, or surimi crab sticks. And now for the coleslaw. Well, we shred the cabbage first, and then add a little bit of sushi vinegar and other ingredients. Okay. So first, you can cut the cabbage. Well, cabbage, it's different depending on the season. During the springtime, it has more gap in it, and when it's winter, it's very tight. Right. Winter is dense. Spring cabbage is light and sweet. Yeah. They're both great. I just cut like this. Cut the cabbage into manageable pieces and cut it into shreds about two millimeters thick. If you don't like to use a knife or don't have a sharp knife, you can also use slicer. Place the cross section of the cabbage against the slicer and shred. It's that easy. Okay. This should be good for both of us. of us okay we've finished shredding the cabbage next prep the cucumber we have another player ready to go yes we have this Japanese cucumber okay cut the cucumber into thin shreds then diagonally into three millimeter thick slices you'll notice how she cuts diagonally first that makes each slice longer they're prettier that way but it also cuts down on your overall cutting time Then stack the slices in the same direction and cut into thin shreds. Add the cucumber to the cabbage. To boost the taste, we'll take an important additional step. And then this is what we call shiomomi. Which means salt massage. You add just a little bit of salt. It's not for the taste, it's for just doing the massage. Right. When you do this, the moisture will come out from the vegetables. This is such an important step, makes all vegetables taste better. It's true. Shiomomi is the miracle step. And you're squeezing pretty hard. Yes, and you see the volume has almost shrunk, like half size. Massaging the vegetables with salt draws out extra moisture through osmosis. This makes it easier for the vegetables to absorb the dressing, improving the flavor. So you're going to squeeze this water out, aren't you? This is fun. You'll be amazed how much water comes out of these veggies. Watch this. Use both hands to firmly squeeze out the excess moisture. Then, you know, what makes it, it makes all different kinds of vegetables crunchier. That's the trick. Right. Also, any excess moisture will make the coleslaw watery and dilute the dressing. So it's essential to squeeze it out thoroughly. Are you ready to go? Yes. Okay. So the cabbage and cucumbers are ready. Yes. And yet another visitor to the stage. Yes. Crab sticks. Kanikama. Kanikama. These are great. Surimi crab sticks are made by steaming white fish paste and adding crab flavor. They're designed to resemble crab leg meats in both appearance and texture, so they're easy to shred. These types of imitation crab sticks have become increasingly popular worldwide. And the texture is very similar to crab as well. So it's really similar to crab meat. Delicious, but affordable and really easy because you don't even have to take off the shell. It's just ready to go. So we're going to use this in our coleslaw. Yes, you just cut this and put it here. Look how it falls apart just like crab meat. It's amazing. These days, especially the past two or three years, I think they have leveled up their technology. They've raised their game. Yeah. Once you've added the surimi crab sticks, you can season the coleslaw. The ingredients are mayonnaise, sushi vinegar, and sesame seeds. You want to mix it using one spoon. You don't want to wash it, so you go from the dry one. Right, otherwise it sticks. Yes. Okay. So, one teaspoon of sushi vinegar. Okay. Finally, mix in the mayonnaise. And then you mix it. Love it. We good to go? Yes. So now we've got everything ready to go. All we need is a plate. If you're using tongs and also if you're using chopsticks, instead of going like this horizontally, instead of holding everything horizontally, you want to go vertically, even with the tongs. Okay. Hold your chopsticks in an upright position when plating the coleslaw. This makes it easier to form a mound. Interesting. And you want to leave this empty space, if you just spread everything all over, it's not aesthetically beautiful. It's not aesthetically pleasing, is it? No. and especially because you have such beautiful plates You want to let the guests see some of the plate as well as the food. Right. It's gorgeous. Gorgeous. Leaving this area, like this. And then on top is purple sprouts. Oh, they're gorgeous. Look how pretty those are. Just a little bit, and it's done. Japanese coleslaw, a la Chef Rika. Today's dishes are now complete. And now for me to start dining with the chef. Here we go. This is gyudon. It looks amazing. All right, here we go. I'm gonna start by breaking the egg open here. Wow, look at that, it's turned out perfect. All right, I'm ready to go. So good. The meat is so soft, savory, it's really soaked up the sauce and the onions, so sweet. And I can tell the ginger in the sauce when you cooked it. There's the beni shoga here on top, which is a nice little accent, but there's a nice underlying ginger flavor. And of course, if you eat the ginger, you get it even more. Mm, this is incredible. And you should definitely try it with the egg. Good, it makes it creamier as well. Thank you. What's this? That's a shichimi. It's a condiment. Mm-hmm. And it's a mix of red pepper, sesame seeds, and some other things. Mm-hmm. And it goes really well with this gyudon. Okay. Yes. Shichi means seven, mi means flavor. So it's a seven flavor powder of some sort. Let me try it. That is good. Yeah, shichimi really wakes up your palate again. Hey, more good stuff coming. Mm, very good. Okay, moving on to the coleslaw. First of all, let me point out how beautiful this coleslaw is. This is a work of art. Look at that. Thank you. Crab meat in there, light and tangy and refreshing. Oh, I love Sushizu and mayonnaise in the irigoma, which is roasted sesame. Adds a nice sort of roasted aroma. Amazing. It's a great way to cleanse your palate. Between bites of gyudon, heavier meat dish, lighter veggie dish, that combination is what keeps your chopsticks going up and down. Just amazing. Thank you. Once you try making this gyudon with really thinly sliced beef, You would know how important it is to use the thinly sliced meat for the Japanese dishes. Mm-hmm. Shredded cabbage is a very popular dish in Japan. And it not only tastes good, but it also helps you digest. So I hope you intake both vegetables together with the meat. Yes. Just give it a try. I guarantee you'll love it. And then join us again right here on Dining with the Chef. See you next time. Bye-bye. Let's review. First, the gyudon. Cut the onion into rings one centimeter wide. Slice the ginger. Combine the soy sauce, sugar, sake, and mirin. Simmer the onions until tender. Then add the thinly sliced beef and simmer further to coat in the sauce. Make a poached egg. Place the simmered beef over the rice. Garnish with the egg, benishoga, and shiso leaves. Next, the Japanese-style coleslaw. Shred the cabbage and cucumber. Massage with salt to draw out the excess moisture. Add the surimi crab sticks, then season with sushi vinegar and mayonnaise. Gyudon is comfort soul food. Once you make it, you'll make it again and again and again.