With my son now in college, I have been working on easy recipes he can make on his own.
Here is a very simple Japanese-style beef rice bowl made in a small rice cooker.
It is a complete, flavorful meal of fluffy white rice, thinly sliced beef, and tender onions cooked together in a sweet and savory sauce.
This easy, all-in-one meal, making it easy lunch or dinner for college students or anyone cooking single-serving meals.
All you need to do is just add everything into the pot and press the cook button.
Once finished, give it a quick toss so the rice absorbs all the sauce, then finish with fresh green onions or cilantro.
To keep cleanup minimal and avoid dirtying extra dishes in a cramped dorm or small kitchen, you can eat it straight from the inner pot since it is so small.
It is quick effortless meal that I hope you also find useful and tasty.
What You Will Need
- Rice: We are using standard white long-grain rice here. Unlike short-grain rice, there is no need for presoaking, and the grains stay nicely separated once cooked with the sauce.
- Water: Cold water to cook the rice to a fluffy texture.
- Thin beef or pork slices: Look for pre-sliced hot pot or shabu shabu beef in the freezer aisle of any Asian grocery store. I used the rolled beef from Costco, which costs a bit more for the convenience of pre-separated slices, but cheaper unrolled trays work just as well. If you slice your own from ribeye or boneless chuck, partially freeze the meat first to get paper-thin cuts. Ground beef is also an easy, budget-friendly shortcut.
- Onion: Thinly sliced yellow or white onion cooks down sweet and soft. You can sub with shallots.
- Japanese BBQ sauce: Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce is widely popular and available at Costco and most supermarkets. It’s sweet and savory but mostly sweet.
- Salt and Hondashi powder: Salt balances the sweetness. You can use salt alone or a combination of salt and Hondashi powder, an instant Japanese bouillon that adds a quick boost of umami.
- Green onion or cilantro: Thinly sliced to stir in at the very end for fresh flavor and pop of color.
- Small rice cooker: I’m using a compact 3-cup rice cooker that’s just perfect for a college student. You can also use a standard size rice cooker.
Level it Up with Vegetables
If you’re looking to make the meal more complete, top the finished bowl with sliced fresh cucumber.
If you prefer cooked vegetables, lay baby bok choy leaves or chopped cabbage in the rice cooker about 5 minutes before the rice finishes.
Related Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, you might want to check out my other rice cooker recipes:
Mini Rice Cooker Beef Bowls (Easy Dorm Meal)
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
An easy Japanese-style beef rice bowl made entirely in a mini rice cooker. Fluffy white rice, thinly sliced beef, and onions cook together in a sweet, savory sauce for an effortless one-pot meal. Perfect for college dorms or busy weeknights, with practically zero cleanup.
Ingredients
- 1 rice cooker cup (150g) of long-grain Jasmine rice
- 1 1/4 rice cooker cup (215g) of water
- 80g thinly sliced beef (can sub with pork)
- 1/4 cup sliced yellow or white onion (can sub with shallot)
- 2 tablespoons Bachan’s original Japanese barbecue sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon hondashi powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 green onion or 1 tablespoon thinly sliced cilantro
- Ground black pepper
- Drizzle chili oil or roasted sesame oil (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the beef: In a small bowl, combine the thinly sliced beef with the barbecue sauce, hondashi powder, salt, and yellow/white onion (or shallot) until evenly coated. Alternatively, you can skip and just add individual ingredients to the rice and water in the inner pot.
- Prep the rice: Add the long-grain rice to the inner pot. Wash grains with cold water until water runs mostly clear (one time is usually good enough) then drain completely. I occasionally skip washing and it’s just fine as well. Add water (1-1/4 rice cooker cups) to the rice.
- Add beef: Lay the seasoned beef and onion mixture evenly across the surface of the rice and water. Do not stir; keep the meat and onions layered on top.
- Cook: Place the inner pot into the mini rice cooker, close the lid, and press the cook button. Let it run its regular cooking cycle (about 30 minutes).
- Toss and serve: Once the cooker switches off, use the rice paddle to gently toss everything together. Fold in the sliced green onions/cilantro. Finish with ground black pepper, and a drizzle of chili oil or toasted sesame oil if preferred. Then enjoy (straight from the pot if you’re feeling lazy).
Notes
1 rice cooker cup is about 3/4 standard cup
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course
- Cuisine: Asian, Japanese
