Cheese Gyudon (チーズ牛丼) is a beef bowl topped with melted cheese—usually cheddar, mozzarella, or a mix—and served at Gyudon chain eating places in Japan. It has been a success because the mid-2010s and continues to evolve, remaining a preferred menu favourite.
What’s Cheese Gyudon?
Cheese Gyudon is a tasty twist on the traditional beef bowl—thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a candy and savory sauce—topped with gooey, melty cheese, often processed cheese made to style like cheddar or mozzarella. You’ll discover it at many Gyudon chain eating places in Japan, and it’s a success as a result of the wealthy, creamy cheese pairs so properly with the candy and savory beef. The most effective half is how the cheese melts proper into the meat and onions, making each chew additional flavorful and comforting. Certain, it’s a bit heavier than common Gyudon, however that’s a part of why individuals like it—it’s pure consolation in a bowl.
Chii-gyu, brief for Cheese Gyudon, can also be used as web slang. The time period began from a web based meme poking enjoyable at individuals who “appear like they might order Cheese Gyudon.” On an nameless message board, an illustration started circulating alongside the caption “a face that appears like they’d order Cheese Gyudon Additional-Giant with Delicate-Boiled Egg.” The drawing confirmed a person with glasses, a hunched posture, unshaven stubble, and a lackluster expression. Because the meme unfold, Chii-gyu got here to explain somebody with an introverted or “otaku”-like look or vibe.
Nowadays, Chii-gyu is commonly used much less in regards to the precise dish and extra as a playful—although typically unkind—jab at somebody who appears socially awkward. That stated, Cheese Gyudon itself stays a beloved a part of informal Japanese eating. Creamy, wealthy, and deeply comforting, it’s an fascinating and scrumptious evolution of the traditional Gyudon price noting.
Ideas and substitutions for Cheese Gyudon
- Cheese choices – Any good melting cheese will work. Select a light, neutral-flavored cheese so it doesn’t overpower the flavour of the Gyudon itself. Soften it simply sufficient to coat the meat evenly with out separating.
- Vegetable choices – Basic Gyudon makes use of onions, however you possibly can change issues up with inexperienced onions, napa cabbage, mushrooms, or different greens you want. Understand that some greens launch extra water than others, so style and regulate the seasonings as you go.
- Rice choices – Steamed white rice is the usual, however brown rice works too. If you wish to in the reduction of on energy from the cheese, strive cauliflower rice for a lighter, low-carb twist.
Extra recipes like Cheese Gyudon
Candy and savory beef rice bowl topped with gooey, melted cheese
- 1 onion
- 11 oz beef (thinly sliced)
- 1 1/2 cup Dashi
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 1 tsp ginger root (grated)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or jack )
- 2 cups steamed rice
- Benishoga (pickled crimson ginger)
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Slice onion thinly, and lower sliced beef in 2″ width.
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Boil Dashi in a pot and add sliced onion. Prepare dinner for 3-4 minutes. Add soy sauce, sugar, and sake, after which grated ginger.
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Add the sliced beef to the pot and stir. Prepare dinner for a few minutes. Then high with cheese, cowl with a lid, flip off the warmth, and let sit for a minute or two till the cheese is totally melted.
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Pour meat combination over rice and high with pickled crimson ginger.