20-Minute Japanese Rice Bowl Recipes That Can Feed Your Whole Family

Hello from Seoul! A lot of people are looking for something that's easy, nutritious, budget-friendly, and still tastes amazing. Sounds too good to be true? Then, just invest 20 minutes on this. Trust me. If you do, your whole family will have a super satisfying dinner for a busy weeknight. Today, we're gonna be making gyudon, one of the best beef rice balls in the world. Soft, tender beef and fragrant onions simmered in a Japanese-style savory sauce. If you have all of that in one bite with some warm rice, trust me, no fancy dinner can beat this humble rice ball. So please give it a try. If you do, you will see why this simple, comforting dish has become one of the best rice balls in the world. For this, you'll need some beef, onion, green onions, and rice. That's it. Simple ingredients, right? But if you wanna feel a more authentic Japanese vibe, bring this bad boy over here. Beni Shoga. Trust me. It may seem like nothing, but this pickled ginger will make you feel like it just came out of a Japanese restaurant. Alright, let's start with the onions. Take two medium onions and thinly slice them. If you like them to have some texture, you can totally slice them thicker. But if you're looking for a quick, easy weeknight dinner, I recommend slicing them thin. Because that way, they will release their flavor much faster. Next, thinly slice three green onions. And as always, separate the whites and greens. Today, we're not making an aromatic oil, but we still use the white parts to build up flavor, and the green parts will be our beautiful garnish. So make sure you keep them separate, like this. Once that's done, take one pound of thinly sliced beef and cut that into nice bite-sized pieces. You can usually find this kind of thinly sliced beef at any Asian grocery store. And if you're in Korean groceries, look for bulgogi cut. Since I make this dish almost every week, I always stock up on bulgogi cuts from a Korean grocery store and keep them in the freezer. That way, whenever I wanna make this dish, I can just pull out the beef from the freezer and whip it up in 10 minutes. Pretty good tip, right? What? No Asian grocery store near your place? Don't worry about it. Just grab any steak and pop it in the freezer. And then, once it gets firm but not rock solid, you can simply thinly slice it against the grain. Problem solved, right? All right, let's move on to the sauce. In a small container, combine 1 1⁄2 cups of water, 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 6 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of hondashi, Japanese dashi powder, and give it a good mix. Super simple, right? But if you're cooking for someone who can't have alcohol, like a pregnant woman or kids, then just combine 1 3⁄4 cups of water, 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 1⁄2 teaspoons of hondashi, and give it a good mix. This way, even without mirin, you can still make a delicious gyudon. And that's how we made it during Claire's pregnancy. By the way, we have all the instructions and a list of ingredients on our blog, erinandclaire.com. So, please visit here if you need a written recipe. Alright, it's cooking time! Pour the sauce into a large pot. Add the sliced onions, white part of the green onions, and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium and let them simmer for about 2 minutes or until the onions turn translucent. And then, add the sliced beef and gently separate any pieces that are sticking together. And then, give it a good mix so every single piece can soak up all the flavorful sauce. Now, all we need to do is just cover it with a lid and let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until the beef is nice and tender. What? It's been 5 minutes, but the beef is not tender enough? Don't worry about it! Then, just add a splash of water and let it simmer a little longer. Depending on the cut and the thickness of your beef, the cooking time can vary, so take your time and adjust to your taste. Trust me. It's gonna be amazing in the end. And this is totally optional, but if you want a cleaner broth, you can skim off the foam or any impurities as it simmers. Alright, the beef topping is ready to go. Let's start plating. Put some rice in a serving bowl and then place the beef and onions over the rice. Here, make sure to use chopsticks or tongs like I do because if you scoop the toppings with a ladle, too much broth will come with it and that will make your gyudon too salty. I warned you. So if your gyudon turns out too salty because you didn't take my advice, I'm totally not responsible. And then, to that, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the broth. That's it! Super simple, right? There's no reason not to try this at home. For information, I never throw out the leftover broth after finishing the gyudon. I add some mushrooms or tofu, simmer it again, and make a second rice bowl out of it. Pretty good tip, right? So give it a try. You will absolutely love that too. What? You wanna know this kind of tip more and more? I'm so glad you brought that up because everything you need is in these two books. Trust me. With these bad boys, Simply Korean and Beyond Korean, you can cook 200 East Asian dishes like Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and even Korean fusion dishes like a pro. So don't forget to check them out. The link is in the description. All right. To finish it off, let's add some pickled ginger and green onions on top. Couldn't be any easier, right? This is totally optional, but to make it look even prettier and tastier, I'm just gonna add a soft boiled egg. But you could also go with a sunny-side up or even a poached egg. It's totally up to you. Whatever you do, they'll all add that nice creaminess and richness to your gyudon. All right. It's done. You wanna know how it tastes? Let's call our taste tester. It's gonna be a very short review because our baby is crying. But as always, it looks super delicious. Let's give it a try. Cheers! It's so thin, so as soon as you put it in your mouth, it's so soft and it's so delicious that it goes over so well. I think it's a perfect food for me when I can't eat rice with various side dishes because I'm looking at Hoony like these days. What? Sounds impossible? No, not at all. With this amazing Japanese rice bowl, you can check all those boxes. Today, we're going to be making Butadon, one of the best Japanese rice bowls of all time. For some reason, it's seriously underrated compared to Gyudon. But once you take a bite, you'll be like, wait, why isn't this more popular? Yeah, it's too delicious. Especially the version I'm showing you today, it'll be way more flavorful and packed with umami than most rice bowls out there. So I really hope you give it a shot. If you do, I'm sure your rice bowl rankings might change forever. For this, you'll need some pork, garlic, ginger, and some rice. That's it. Super simple, right? But if you want to impress your family or friends, then grab some green onions and soft boiled eggs. With these bad boys, you'll basically bring Tokyo into your kitchen. All right, let's start with the vegetables. First, smash three cloves of garlic and finely chop them. Since we're adding this to our marinade, the finer, the better. But if this sounds like too much work for you, feel free to use a grater. It's totally up to you. Next, grab a small knob of ginger and grate it. About half a teaspoon would be enough. Now, some of you might say, Aaron, that's such a small amount. Can I just skip it? Sure, you can skip it. But as I always say, pork and ginger, they're a match made in heaven. So I highly recommend using it. It might seem small, but it makes a huge difference in taste. Trust me, that little touch will take your butadon to a whole new level. This time, green onions. Grab two green onions and thinly slice them. Today, we're gonna use all of it as a garnish, so no need to separate the white and greens. All right, let's move on to the marinade for the pork. In a small container, add a quarter cup of soy sauce, a quarter cup of sake, a quarter cup of mirin, half a teaspoon of hondashi, one tablespoon of water, two teaspoons of sugar, garlic, ginger, and give it a good mix. Here, if you don't want to use any alcohol, just swap the sake and mirin with water and add a bit more hondashi and sugar. Even with that, you will still end up with a delicious butadon. So, don't worry about it. All right, it's time for the star of the show, pork belly. Today, I've got one pound of thinly sliced pork belly and I'm just gonna cut it into nice bite-sized pieces. What? You can't find this kind of thin cut? Don't worry about it. If you only have thick cut, that's totally fine, too. But just keep in mind that it will take a little longer to marinate. Once that's done, pour the marinade over the pork and gently massage it. And then, let it sit at room temperature for about five minutes. That's it. So simple, right? Actually, you could just sear the pork first and pour the marinade directly into the pan, like a sauce. But if you invest a few minutes to marinate it like this, you will get way more tender and juicy pork at the end. So, please don't skip this step. You won't regret it. All right, everything is ready to go. Let's get cooking. In a large pan, add half a teaspoon of oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Once it gets nice and hot, add the marinated pork and spread it out evenly. And then, stir-fry for about three to four minutes or until it's beautifully charred and fully cooked. To get that nice, beautiful char on the pork, I recommend cooking it in two batches. Otherwise, there'll be too much moisture in the pan and your pork will end up steaming instead of searing. All right, looks like it's done. Let's put the beautifully cooked pork pieces over the rice. Here, if you want to take it to the next level, like a restaurant quality, then just hit it with a blowtorch for a few seconds. Trust me, that beautiful smoky aroma you're looking for will be right in your rice bowl. All right, to finish it off, let's put some green onions and soft boiled egg. How does it look? It looks absolutely fantastic, right? And this is totally optional, but I happen to have some Japanese pickled ginger left in the fridge, so I'm gonna add a little on top. All right, it's really done. Let's see how it tastes. It's clear. Mmm! As always, it looks super delicious. Let's give it a try. It's made with pork, right? It looks nice and charred. Mmm! Cheers! I know Japanese people eat with only chopsticks, but I prefer to use a spoon when I eat donburi. Donburi, right? Rice bowl! For me, this is perfect as it is. But Aaron said, if you want to eat it with more sauce, then you can simmer the leftover marinade and drizzle over the rice. Then, it'll be more flavorful. You're welcome! Ever since Claire got pregnant, our daily life has been really hectic. If your days are just as busy as ours, trust me, this 15-minute teriyaki chicken will be the lifesaver. Today, we're gonna be making the simplest version of teriyaki chicken. Just like the title says, it literally takes just 15 minutes. And I'm not talking about the train chef's 15 minutes. This is a super simple recipe that even college students can't handle. So, I really hope you give it a try. For this, you'll need some chicken. That's it! But we can't just eat the chicken. So, to make it a well-balanced meal, let's get a bowl of hot rice, some salad greens, and some cherry tomatoes. What? Sauce ingredients? Don't worry about it. Everything we're gonna use for the sauce is probably already in your pantry. So, you don't have to worry about it. All right, let's start with the teriyaki sauce. What I'm gonna make today is the simplest version. But if you don't mind putting in a little bit more effort and wanna make a fancier version, then please check out our previous video. That's gonna be fantastic. All right, in a small container, add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin, 2 tablespoons of sake, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and give it a good mix. That's it! It's unbelievably simple, right? But this sauce contains a little bit of alcohol. So, for Claire, our hangry pregnant bird, let's make a non-alcoholic version as well. In another container, add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of corn syrup, ¼ teaspoon of hondashi, Japanese dashi powder, and mix it well. Today, I used corn syrup, but honey or even coke works great for this recipe. So, just use whatever works for you. As always, everything will turn out fantastic! By the way, we have all the instructions and a list of ingredients on our blog, erinandclaire.com. So, please visit here if you need a written recipe. Now, let's prep the chicken. Today, I'm using 450 grams of boneless skin on chicken thighs because the fat from the skin makes it more flavorful. But if you prefer chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs, go ahead and use that. No problem at all. Now, if you look at the chicken thigh, you will see it's a bit irregular. So, the first thing we're gonna do is gently flatten it out using the back of your knife. Trust me. This little detail will have the chicken cook more evenly and give you the best result. Once that's done, pat them dry with some paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper. And then, lightly coat them with some potato starch. What? No potato starch at home? Don't worry about it. You can also use cornstarch or AP flour. No problem at all. Now, some of you might say, Aaron, I'm too busy on a weeknight. I can't be bothered with all of that. Okay, I get it. Then, you can't skip this step. But if you do, it not only gives the chicken a crispy texture, but it also helps it absorb more of the sauce. So, when you taste it, it'll be much more flavorful. I'm not gonna force you. It's your call. All right, our chicken is ready to go. Let's get cooking. In a large pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Once it gets nice and hot, place the chicken skin side down and cook for about 4 minutes. To get nice, even browning, move them around a little bit and gently press them down with your spatula. Once you've got good color on one side, flip and cook the other side for about 4 to 5 minutes or until they're cooked through. Here, if your chicken is too thick, the outside might burn before the inside is cooked. So, in that case, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with a lid. Once your chicken is cooked, wipe off the excess oil. Yes, it adds to the flavor, so if you wanna leave it, you can do that, too. But today, I'm gonna get rid of it to enjoy a more cleaner taste. All right, let's pour the sauce over the chicken and simmer it for about 2 minutes over medium-low heat. During this step, make sure to flip the chicken pieces over and over so that they can absorb our teriyaki sauce. Once the sauce has thickened and the chicken is beautifully glazed, turn the heat off. Now, we're just gonna remove them from the pan and let them rest for a few minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, just slice them into nice bite-size pieces. All right, it's time to plate this up. Let's put some rice on a serving plate and add half of the chicken, some salad greens and cherry tomatoes. And last but not least, for extra flavor, pour some leftover sauce from the pan. All right, our ring night teriyaki chicken is done. How does it look? It looks absolutely delicious, right? All right, let's score our taste tester. Clear. Mmm. Wow. The chicken is beautifully glazed. It looks super delicious. Let's give it a try. Look at this. It looks beautiful, right? Yes, sir. It's perfect. Wow. It's still steamy. It looks super delicious. Cheers. Mmm. Good job. And thank you. Cheers. Seriously, this way, even if you're not a big fan of chicken with a skin on, you're gonna love this one. It's so good. Highly recommend it. Before we start, let me be honest with you. This is definitely not a super authentic recipe, but I dare say it's gonna be the best oyakodon that you ever had. Yeah, I made it better. Today, we're gonna be making a Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl called oyakodon. But like I said earlier, this is not the typical one. As always, we're gonna make it better. When I visited Tokyo, I found this oyakodon made with ground chicken. And that was amazing. I felt like that's the ultimate version of it. So I'm gonna put my own twist on it here and there and make it simple but delicious. For this, you will need some chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, eggs, and a bowl of hot rice. Considering it's the upgraded version, it only needs some basic ingredients, right? But if you could get some Japanese herb called mitsuba, you'll feel like you're in Tokyo. What? There's no way to get this? Don't worry about it. Then bring our love green onion. Maybe that could be more delicious. Alright, let's start off with the vegetables. First, finely dice half an onion. Since we're gonna be using ground chicken, if it's too chunky, there might be some kind of imbalancing texture. So it's better to cut it into small pieces. Next, smash two cloves of garlic and finely chop them. Once that's done, grate a small knob of ginger. About half a teaspoon would be enough. And lastly, roughly chop some mitsuba. That's it. So simple, right? Now, let's mince our chicken. Today, I'm gonna be using 500 grams of boneless skin on chicken thigh. Here, some of you might say, Aaron, can I use chicken breast? I wish I could say yes. But the fat from the chicken thigh is a key ingredient in this recipe. It will add a depth of flavor into our sauce and that's gonna bring it to the next level. This time, let's make the sauce one of the most important components of this dish. In a small container, add one cup of water, half a tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder, four and a half tablespoons of soy sauce, four tablespoons of mirin, half a tablespoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of hondashi and give it a good mix. What? No hondashi in your house? Then, you can replace it with chicken bouillon powder. Don't worry about it. Still gonna be fantastic. All right. Everything is all set. Let's get cooking. In a wok or pot, add one tablespoon of oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Once it gets nice and hot, throw in your onion, garlic, ginger and saute those for about two to three minutes or until they're lightly browned. Once your kitchen is filled with the amazing aroma, add in your ground chicken. We're just gonna cook and keep stirring it for about six minutes. Once most of the liquid has evaporated and you've got some fat from the chicken, pour in the sauce and give it a good mix. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. That's it. So simple, right? It's almost like making a ragu sauce, right? If you have some time on the weekend, you can make a big batch, store it in the fridge or freezer and then reheat it whenever you need a quick and easy meal. Awesome, right? So, please, please, please, please give this a try. You won't regret it. What? You wanna know this kind of tip more and more? I'm so glad you brought that up because everything you need is in these two books. Trust me. With these bad boys, Simply Korean and Beyond Korean, you can cook 200 East Asian dishes like Korean, Chinese, Japanese and even Korean fusion dishes like a pro. So don't forget to check them out. The link is in the description. All right. Our meat sauce is done. Set it aside and let's make Since oyakodon is usually cooked one portion at a time, I'm gonna beat two eggs one portion now. Here, you don't have to mix it too much. Just give it a few stirs like you're too lazy. Trust me. This little tip will give you a beautiful gradation at the end. Now, get yourself a small pan and ladle some meat sauce into your pan. The meat sauce is for four servings so I'm gonna use about a quarter and then bring it to a boil over medium heat. Again, I'm gonna cook one portion at a time just to make it more pretty like a restaurant. But if you don't have enough time or your hungry birds at home can't wait that long, you can use a larger pan, make two portions at a time and split it at the end. No problem at all. All right. Once it starts to boil, add in your beaten eggs and then top it off with some mitsuba. Now, all you need to do is just cover and let that cook for about one to two minutes or until the eggs But I recommend not overcooking the eggs. Trust me, those soft and runny eggs are really gonna make you feel like you're in Tokyo right now. Once the eggs are cooked, remove it from the heat and slide it over the rice. How does it look? Looks lovely, right? All right, it's done. Let's call our taste tester. Claire? Wow, it smells so good at home. Can I open the lid? Wow! Oh my gosh! Wow, it smells so good It looks a little bit different from what I know but as long as it's tasty, I don't mind at all. Let's give it a try. Cheers! why is it so good? As soon as I take a bite, I keep wanting to eat it. Mmm! First of all, the eggs on top are a little runny. Maybe that's why the eggs on top are so moist and soft. Also, in the case of Oyakodon that we know, they cook in a very short time. The chicken is a little bigger than this. Maybe that's why sometimes the sauce and the chicken are a little bit separated. But this one uses liver meat. Maybe that's why the sauce is spread between and it feels like it's well-seasoned. On top of that, the fat that comes from the chicken itself makes the sauce very rich and thick and it has a concentrated taste and it's much more savory. It's good. Awesome. It's really good. Wow! It makes a huge difference in taste. I just love it! It's so good. Mmm! I think I ate the meatball but I was so surprised by other things that the meatball didn't have a strong smell. But it has an authentic taste. I think that's the point. Mmm! It's good! Mmm! It's worth It's really good. It's a little bit of a technique that upgrades the oyakodon that I know It's perfect who don't like the watery and mushy texture of chicken. it's perfect for them. It's even a little bit Once you have a bite of this you will know what I'm talking about. So good.