Soboro don (Japanese beef and egg rice bowls)
Sweet-savory ginger beef and soft little scrambled eggs laid in stripes over rice, a Japanese lunchbox favorite that’s pure comfort.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.75 a serving
- 710 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- ¾ cup sushi rice
- 8 oz 85/15 ground beef
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup frozen peas
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tsp sugar, divided
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 710 calories, 35 g protein, 82 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $2.75 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice until the water runs mostly clear.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Put it in a with the water and over high.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn to low and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Let it sit covered 10 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
Put the beef, ginger, soy sauce, mirin and 1 tablespoon sugar in a cold and stir with a spatula until the raw beef breaks into tiny bits.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Dolly’s tip: Starting in a cold pan is the trick to the fine, crumbly texture this dish is known for.Turn the heat to medium and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until no pink is left and most of the liquid is gone. Scoop into a bowl.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
the eggs with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and the salt.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Wipe out the , heat the oil over low, add the eggs, and stir constantly with a fork 2 to 3 minutes, until they set into small, soft curds.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Low heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Keep stirring the whole time. Tiny curds are the goal, not a fluffy scramble.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Scoop out the eggs, add the peas and a splash of water to the pan, and cook 2 minutes over medium, until bright green.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Fill two bowls with rice and lay the beef, egg and peas over it in stripes.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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