Gyudon Beef Bowl

I've always wanted to make my own gyudon. Gyudon translates to beef (gyu) bowl (don). It is such an unmistakably Japanese dish. I think the secret of a good gyudon lies in the sweet sauce that the beef cooks in. Of course, higher quality/marbling of beef will also elevate the dish, but the combination and ratio of soy, sugar, mirin and wine is the key in making this the ultimate Japanese comfort food. I found this easy recipe from Harumi Kurihara's cookbook I bought almost 10 years ago. She's like the Martha Stewart of Japan, minus the tax evasion. The sauce came out just right - sweet with depths of flavour from the soy and mirin. 

Slice the onion into thin half-moons.

I got pre-sliced beef at the supermarket intended for sukiyaki or hot pot.

I used white wine, but you can also use Chinese cooking wine or sake.

It is important to use Japanese soy sauce as it is sweeter than its Chinese counterpart and also has a thinner and clearer consistency.

Bring the wine and water to a boil.

Simmer the beef and skim the scum off the top.

Add the soy sauce, sugar and mirin.

 Add the onions. The original recipe called for an otoshibuta, which is a light-weight wooden drop lid placed directly on top of simmering food to distribute heat evenly. I didn't have one, so I improvised and used the lid from a smaller pan. Cook until the onions are soft.

The beef and onions soaked up all the delicious sweet and savoury flavours. I think I will add an onsen egg next time for its silky richness!

Recipe - adapted from Harumi's Japanese Cooking

For 2

Ingredients

½ cup white wine

¼ cup of water

½ an onion

250g thinly sliced beef

¼ cup Japanese soy sauce

¼ cup mirin

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 servings of cooked Japanese rice, kept warm 

Method

1. Slice the onions into thin half moon shapes.
2. In a saucepan (I used a frying pan), add the water and the wine. When it comes to a boil, simmer the beef for 2 minutes. Skim the scum off the top. 
3. Add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Mix well.
4. Add the onions and cover with the lid of a smaller pan, until onions are soft.
5. Spoon the beef and onion mixture on top of rice and drizzle with pan juices.

Focaccia with Rosemary, Thyme and Red Onion

Focaccia is one of my favourite breads. It is soft, moist, with a nice crust on the outside. Gold by Harlan Goldstein in Hong Kong serves a really good focaccia which comes with a pesto dip. My brother, who is usually really particular about not eating bread before dinner as not to ruin his appetite, would have at least 3 pieces of this focaccia everytime we went to Gold. Each piece was about the size of my fist! It was that delicious. But bread was something I never thought of making myself. It just seemed so hard and time-consuming with all that kneading, yeasty stuff, and having to let it rise.

Then came my study break, and I had a week off from school. I was lazing on the couch one day catching up on my TV shows when my brother walked past, complaining that we had run out of bread (he wanted to make a sandwich). So, being the nice big sister that I am, I offered to make him fresh homemade bread! I looked online for the easiest recipe I could find, tweaked it a bit, and the focaccia came out amazing. My brother loved it (yay!) and I brought it to school to let my classmates (aka guinea pigs) try some. I'm sure they were being polite, but everyone gave positive comments.

This recipe is versatile. You can omit the red onions, switch herbs, and add other toppings. I made another version with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, which worked really well too. Or make it with just olive oil and garlic, and make your own pesto!

Mix the yeast, honey and warm water together and let it sit for about 5 minutes. During this time, the yeast will be "activated" and begin to froth.

The key to this tasty moist focaccia is the herb infused olive oil. I used thyme and rosemary in mine. After simmering the herbs in the oil, I put the oil and herbs into a bowl to cool down. Then my mom asked me to help her with something and I totally forgot that I was going to make bread. The oil actually sat on the kitchen counter for two days (covered) before I remembered it, so it had been “infusing” all that time and in the end it came out more flavorful and intense.

Bake until golden. The focaccia will be moist and fluffy inside and crunchy on the outside. This bread is so tasty on its own - you won't be needing any dips!

Recipe – adapted from here

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup warm water

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

¼ teaspoon honey

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ red onion, sliced

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Method

1. In a small cold saucepan, combine olive oil, garlic, thyme, rosemary and the black pepper. On low heat, stir the mixture occasionally until aromatic, for about 8 minutes. Do not let the garlic brown. Pour into a bowl and let it cool.
2. Using the same saucepan, cook the onions on medium low heat until they begin to soften, but not yet translucent. If they are cooked through, they will catch in the oven when you bake the focaccia. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast and honey. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup of flour and ¼ cup of the infused oil mixture. Using a spatula, stir a few times until the flour has moistened. Let sit for another 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the remaining 1 ½ cups of flour and the salt. Once the dough comes together, transfer to a floured board and knead the dough 10 to 15 times until smooth. Here is a great tutorial on how to knead dough.
6. Transfer to a large oiled bowl, cover with a warm, damp towel and let it rise for 1 hour. Make sure the bowl is in a warm area without air conditioning or draft, as this will affect the rise of your dough.
7. After 1 hour, heat oven to 230 C/450 F.
8. Use 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture to oil a 9 x 13 inch rimmed baking sheet. If you are using a non-stick pan, then you can skip this step, as the dough itself is oily enough.
9. Transfer dough to the baking sheet and press it down into the pan. Use your fingers to dimple the dough then drizzle the top with 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture. You can save any remaining oil as a marinade, like for lambchops.
10. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes uncovered then bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Transfer focaccia to a rack and cool.