How to Make Gyudon (Beef Bowl) with Raw Egg

Gyudon is a rice bowl dish. Simmered beef is served on top of steamed rice. It is one of the most popular Japanese fast foods. You can see numerous gyudon stores as you walk around a city in Japan. It is also easy to make at home.

[Simple Recipe] How to Make Gyudon (Beef Bowl) with Raw Egg [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S

Ingredients for a large bowl:

350g steamed rice
150g thinly sliced beef
1/2 sliced onion
150ml water
1 1/2 tbsps Japanese sake (or white wine)
2 tbsps soy sauce
1/2 grated ginger
A dash of sugar
A dash of salt
A dash of Hondashi (or other instant dashi) *1 *2
1 Raw egg (optional) *3

Directions:

1. Boil the water in a pot.
2. When the pot starts boiling, add the Hondashi and stir it.
3. Add the onion to it and boil it until soft.
4. When the onion is soft, add the Japanese sake, the sugar, the salt, the soy sauce and the beef.
5. Cover the pot and cook it on medium heat for 10 minutes.
6. Add the ginger and wait for 1 minute.
7. See how it tastes and adjust the taste with sugar and soy sauce.
8. Place the cooked ingredients on the rice in a bowl.
9. Put the beaten egg on it. (optional) *3

*1
Hondashi is one of packaged instant dashi. Other instant dashi like Dashinomoto are also fine. Dashi is a kind of a Japanese cooking stock. It is not very difficult to make dashi by yourself, but I use the instant one this time. This is a simple recipe.

*2
I think many people from other countries overlook dashi when they make Japanese cuisine. Looks like some people make some Japanese cuisine without using dashi, even when it is necessary for the recipe. Then they say "This doesn't taste good!" Come on! Dashi is the keystone of Japanese cuisine. You can't omit it. Go to an Asian market or Amazon and get some. Or make it by yourself. If you can't get any dashi, other stocks could be used for instead. Weiba (a Chinese instant cooking stock) or bouillon cubes... But I have never tried them for gyudon. I am not sure if they work well.

*3
If you live in Japan, I recommend you to put a raw egg on it. It really tastes great. I don't recommend you to do it if you don't live in Japan. Eggs being distributed in Japan are designed to be eaten raw, but in other countries, they are not. You would have a stomach ache. I know that some people think Japanese are immunized with raw eggs. But it is wrong. Even Japanese would have a stomach ache when they eat a raw egg outside of Japan.

Yabusame at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo ~Japanese Mounted Archery~

Yabusame, or traditional Japanese mounted archery, is the ritual dating back to 9th century. It is performed to entertain the gods. An archer dressed in a noble costume rides a horse and shoots three arrows successively at three targets. Even today, you can see Yabusame at many places.

Also at Meiji Shrine, the shrine surrounded by 170 thousand trees in central Tokyo, Yabusame ceremony is held as an act of the shrine's annual festival. This year again, the archers wowed not only the gods but also the crowd with their brilliant skills.

Yabusame at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo ~Japanese Mounted Archery~ [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Nov. 3rd, 2012

Mochitsuki ~How to Make Mochi, or Japanese Rice Cake~

I came across a small festival while strolling around my neighborhood on a sunny Sunday. I found a stall selling freshly-made mochi there.

Mochi are Japanese rice cakes, which are made by pounding boiled glutinous rice into paste. The process of making mochi is called mochitsuki, which is usually (but not always) held as a year-end ceremony. People once enjoyed mochitsuki at their home, although nowadays it is not very common especially in urban areas. I remember, when I was a kid, my relatives used to gather at my grandfather's home and enjoy mochitsuki together every year-end.

Family mochitsuki is becoming a thing of the past, but it is still popular as an act of festivals and events.

Mochitsuki ~How to Make Mochi, or Japanese Rice Cake~ [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Oct. 21st, 2012

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Thirteen Mikoshi Gathered at Shrine Festival, Kawaguchi, Japan [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Oct. 21st, 2012

Japanese Kindergarten Field Day

The field day of the kindergarten, which my five-year-old nephew attends, was held on a sunny autumn weekend at the yard of the elementary school near the kindergarten. Three to six-year-old kids got into games, performed gymnastic formation and danced with zeal. Their parents also took part in some games. All of them fully enjoyed the event as a player, as well as a spectator.

Japanese Kindergarten Field Day [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Oct. 13th, 2012

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The trees are decorated with light bulbs from mid-November to mid-February every year. But this year, the illumination event started on October 1st. It was to commemorate the restoration of the main building of Tokyo Station which was unveiled on the same day. 230 trees along the 1.2 km avenue were lit by one million LEDs and are enjoyed by delighted people walking by.

Marunouchi Illumination 2012, Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Oct. 1st, 2012

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In 1914, Tokyo Station finally opened in the bustling area. The raised rail tracks connecting to the station were designed not to interfere with road traffic. They were made of red bricks although concrete structures were becoming more popular for a massive building at that time. The main building of the station, which was three-storied and had two domes on both sides of 335 meters width, was also built with bricks and a steel skeleton.

Nine years after the completion of the station, the red brick building withstood the Great Kanto Earthquake, which caused catastrophic damage to Tokyo. However, it was not able to escape war damage. It was almost burned down by air raids in the end of World War II. Only the skeleton and the wall remained. The station building was repaired when the war was over, however, the two domes and the third story were removed, they were badly damaged.

A plan to restore the building to how it looked before the war damage was proposed in the end of 20th century. Numerous people agreed with the plan and it was put into action in 2007. After 5 years of work, not only was the building restored, it also had seismic countermeasures installed. The old foundation made of pine trees was replaced with concrete boxes, and cutting-edge quake absorbers were installed between the building and the foundation. These operations were completed without moving or disassembling the building.

On October 1st, 2012, the oldest building of Tokyo Station unveiled its restored look. The Station Manager said that he hopes people will be familiar with it for the next 100 years.

Restored Tokyo Station Building Unveiled [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Oct. 1st, 2012