Skirt Steak and Caramelized Onion Rice Bowls

I recently had an excellent lunch at the newly opened Pabu in Boston. One of the highlights for me was their take on gyudon, a classic Japanese dish of boiled steak and rice. Their version had perfectly cooked steak on top of the seasoned rice and caramelized onions, so I took that as an inspiration for making my own at home. I was craving it so bad that I cooked it for some friends only a few days later. It actually worked great as a backyard BBQ dish. I put the seasoned rice and caramelized onions into the bowls in the kitchen, and then we all went outside as I grilled off the steak. After slicing it everyone was able to build their own bowls with the cilantro, pickled onions, and jalapenos.

Getting a good caramelization is key to this dish. Also the pinch of instant dashi broth in the onions.

As I said, I put the base of the dish together early because it didn’t need to be served hot.

Anyone else grilling today?

A post shared by Dan – The Food in my Beard (@tfimb) on Jul 9, 2017 at 4:29pm PDT

It was a great Sunday afternoon for grilling.

Steak down first, then top with all that good stuff.

Everyone was able to add as much of each ingredient they wanted.

I love the bright flavors of the pickled onions and jalapenos to balance out the deep flavors of the steak and onions. All in all a great dish for a great afternoon.

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Skirt Steak and Caramelized Onion Rice Bowls

A rice bowl with marinated and grilled skirt steak, caramelized onions, pickled onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and a fried egg. Inspired by Gyudon.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

marinate time1 day d

Total Time1 day d 1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Japanese

Keyword: Bowl, grilled

Servings: 3 bowls

Ingredients

steak and marinade

• 1.25 pounds skirt steak
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered dashi
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 clove garlic grated
• 1 inch ginger grated

pickled onions

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered dashi
• 1 red onion sliced
• 1 cup red vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 teaspoon sugar

bowls

• 2 onions sliced thin
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• pickled jalapenos
• chopped cilantro
• sesame seeds

Instructions

• Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the steak. Allow to marinade for a few hours or overnight.
• Mix the red onions with the vinegar and other pickling ingredients. Allow to sit for a few hours or overnight.
• Cook the onions slowly with the other caramelized onion ingredients until deep brown, about 30 minutes.
• Mix the cooked rice with the sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir to combine. Split between the bowls.
• Add the onions to the bowls.
• Cook the meat to medium, about 5 minutes per side depending on the thickness. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing thin against the grain.
• Fry the eggs over easy.
• Build the bowls with the steak, then pickled onions, jalapenos, cilantro and the egg. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.