Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl from "Persona 4"

          B totally loved playing "Persona 4 Golden" on his PSVita (somewhat) recently. P4G is an updated and expanded 2012 version of the original "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4" which was released on the PS2 back in 2008. There is also a 2011-2012 animated series (which you can currently watch on Hulu). The game is an RPG and simulation game with a mix of mystery, battles, and social interactions. And great music.

          One of the places your character can visit in the rural town setting is the Chinese diner Aiya, located in Shopping District North. Among the tasty looking foods is Aiya's "Rainy Day Special 3,000 yen Mega Beef Bowl Challenge", you guessed it, served only on the days that it rains in the game. The bowl is so full of meat that your character imagines it could be a portal to the Meat Dimension. Take me there. Please. It's just a fun character thought though and is not a real thing in the game (sorry folks). Your character does increase in characteristics like diligence, courage, and so on from eating it however, but he can only finish the bowl when his understanding, knowledge, courage, and diligence are at maximum. And then the meal is free.

Video by giltigargar

Note: "Beef bowl" in Japanese is gyūdon. The egg on top makes this dish tsukimi gyūdon or "moon viewing beef bowl" because the egg is symbolic of the moon in Japanese tradition. Egg is a very common addition on soups and donburi's (rice bowls, of which this is) and gives the dish a certain creaminess, but if you don't like runny eggs it's okay not to add it! I don't really like it so I ate mine without egg (see the image at the end of this post).

 Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl (Gyūdon)

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Ingredients:
2 Cups Water
2 tsp. Dashi Powder
1 Tbsp. Aji-Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp. Fresh Ginger (optional)
1/2 tsp. Minced Garlic (optional)
2 Onions, sliced
4 Steak-EZE Thin Sliced Beef Steaks (or very thinly sliced beef)
2 tsp. Cornstarch
Fluffy White Rice (made from 3 cups uncooked rice. Fluffy rice tips here!)
Small Egg, poached (How-to here, or use something like this or this!)

Directions:
1. In a large pot bring the 2 cups of water to a boil & add the dashi powder. Stir until dissolved & then  add the mirin, sugar, soy sauce, onion slices, & optional Worcestershire, ginger, & garlic (I love it with these flavors!). Stir & continue to boil gently until the onions are caramelized. Reduce heat to medium.
2. Add the Steak-EZE steaks to the onions & sauce. Push the meat into the sauce & turn over occasionally to cook fully (this will only take a few minutes). Break the meat apart with your spoon (or two forks) & mix well with the onions & sauce.
3. Once the meat is cooked & incorporated, remove the meat & onions from the sauce into a large bowl using a slotted spoon or tongs. Leave the sauce in the pot. Using a measuring cup (or other small cup) scoop out a small amount of sauce & dissolve the cornstarch into it. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pot & stir. Bring the sauce back to a boil & let it cook until it thickens. Reduce the heat to a low simmer to let it thicken more.
4. At this point you can put the onions & meat back into the pot with the sauce or pour the sauce into the bowl with the onions & meat. Serve mounded on top of fluffy rice with the poached egg added last (or not at all). And have confidence that you can finish it! Understanding! Knowledge! Courage! Diligence!