Hayashi Rice (Hashed Beef with Rice) is a Japanese stew made with Demi-Glace, beef, onions, and mushrooms, and served over cooked rice. It has a savoury, tangy, and sweet flavour with a rich gravy texture.
Although it ranks 5th among the most popular rice dishes, Hayashi Rice is one of the well-loved yōshoku dishes in Japan. Incidentally, the top 4 popular Japanese rice dishes are Curry Rice, Omurice, Chicken Rice, and Taco Rice. I’ve already posted Katsu Curry, Vegetarian Curry, and Omurice. I need to post Chicken Rice and Taco Rice one day…
About Hayashi Rice
There are several stories about where the name Hayashi Rice came from. One story is that the founder of Maruzen, which was originally a trading company, invented a dish that could be served on one plate with rice. He served the dish at the corporate cafeteria in the early Meiji period. The founder’s name was Hayashi, hence, Hayashi Rice.
The other story is that the sound of the English word ‘hash’ (as in hashed beef) became ‘hayashi’. I can imagine how this might have occurred. The Japanese language does not have the sound ’sh’, and people pronounce it ‘shi’ instead. If you do that, the sound of ‘hash’ becomes close to ‘hayashi’.
Hayashi Rice Roux
Like curry, there are numerous instant Hayashi Rice roux sold for easy cooking. Depending on the brand, the flavours are slightly different. Some have a slight acidity from tomatoes, and some are sweeter than others.
Using a pack of ready-made roux is one way of making Hayashi Rice and I am sure most Japanese households use these packs, except perhaps for special occasions. The photo below shows a couple of the roux packages that I bought. I made Hayashi Rice using the package on the right in the photo. It looked similar to my dish and the flavour was not too far apart from it either.
My recipe does not use a store-bought pack. I made it from scratch, including Demi-Glace. Making Hayashi Rice from scratch is a major two-step process because Demi-Glace is a recipe of its own.
So today, I will only show you how to make Hayashi Rice, assuming that you have Demi-Glace. The recipe for Demi-Glace is coming in a week or so. But, once Demi-Glace is made, it does not take long to make Hayashi Rice.
You can also use a store-bought Demi-Glace to make today’s dish. I added a note in my recipe card about how you may adjust the recipe when using a store-bought Demi-Glace.
Chef Sakai’s Cookbook
To make my Hayashi Rice, I referenced the Hayashi Rice recipe by a Japanese chef who specialises in French cuisine. Have you watched the Japanese TV show, Iron Chef? I have a cookbook written by Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai. The book has his autograph too, because I went to the Iron Chef dinner show hosted by chef Sakai and Iron Chef Chinese, Chen Kenichi. I talked about this dinner show in my post Mōbōdōfu. It was a wonderful event held in Sydney a long time ago.
I did not follow chef Sakai’s recipe to a T. When I first made it as per his recipe, I felt that the wine flavour was too strong, and the gravy was a touch sour for my liking. So, I adjusted the ingredients. I also simplified the cooking process slightly.
What’s in My Hayashi Rice (Hashed Beef with Rice)
The list of ingredients is long, but there are no special ingredients.
- Cooked rice (hot)
- Onion, sliced thinly
- Button mushrooms, sliced thinly
- Tender beef steak such as porterhouse, sliced thinly
- Flour
- Paprika
- Oil
- Butter
Paprika adds a hint of spiciness to your Hayashi Rice. If you don’t like it or you don’t have it, you can omit it.
Hayashi Rice Gravy
- Demi-Glace (home-made per my new recipe that is coming soon, or store-bought)
- Tomato ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Red wine
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
I bought a can of Heinz Demi-Glace (photo below) from a Japanese grocery store to see how different the gravy would be from my home-made version. Apart from the difference in colour, the Heinz Demi-Glace has a pungent tomato flavour and is a bit sweeter than my home-made Demi-Glace.
I found the Massel brand powder in a tin at Harris Farm Market. It was labelled as Gravy Supreme Demi-Glace and I was hoping that this might be the instant Demi-Glace that was easily accessible. Unfortunately, the consistency was extremely starchy, and despite the labelling, it was not Demi-Glace at all.
How to Make Hayashi Rice (Hashed Beef with Rice)
Making Demi-Glace takes a long time (recipe is coming soon). But if you have Demi-Glace, it does not take long to make Hayashi Rice. See the video.
- Dust the sliced beef strips with flour and paprika.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onion pieces, then mushrooms.
- Transfer the vegetables to a saucepan.
- Heat oil and butter in the frying pan and cook beef strips, then transfer the beef to the saucepan.
- Put the Hayashi Rice Gravy ingredients into the pan and cook.
- Place cooked rice on one side of a serving plate and pour the Hayashi Rice Gravy next to the rice.
The purpose of dusting the beef with flour is to seal the surface of the beef as well as slightly thicken the gravy. If your Demi-Glace is very thick, the Hayashi Rice Gravy might become too thick. In that case, you can add a small amount of water to adjust the consistency. The thickness is just like béchamel sauce.
It is important not to cook the meat too long because the beef cut used in this recipe is not for stewing. It is best when the meat is just cooked.
If you are using store-bought Demi-Glace, taste it and see if you taste a pungent tomato flavour and/or sweetness. You may want to add a very small amount of ketchup initially if your store-bought Demi-Glace is a bit sour. If you can taste a strong sweetness in your store-bought Demi-Glace (as some Japanese Hayashi Rice can be sweet), start with a small amount of brown sugar.
Hayashi Rice made with Heinz Demi-Glace.
The flavour of Hayashi Rice varies a lot depending on people’s palate. I’d suggest that you experiment with Hayashi Rice Gravy by adjusting the gravy ingredients and your favourite flavour.
I hope you try this popular yōshoku.
Yumiko
Watch How To Make It
Hayashi Rice (Hashed Beef with Rice) is a Japanese stew made with Demi-Glace, beef, onions, and mushrooms, and served over cooked rice. It has a savoury, tangy, and sweet flavour with a rich gravy texture.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 300g/0.7lb cooked rice (hot)
- 120g/4.2oz onion , thinly sliced
- 30g/1.1oz button mushrooms , thinly sliced
- 120g/4.2oz tender cut of beef steak , thinly sliced to 3mm/⅛" thick (note 1)
- 1 tbsp flour
- ¼ tsp paprika (note 2)
- 3 tsp oil (separated)
- 10g/0.4oz butter
- 200ml/6.8fl oz Demi-Glace (note 3)
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
-
Spread the beef strips on a tray, and scatter flour and paprika over them. Toss the beef strips and coat them with the flour mixture, ensuring that the surface of all the beef strips is dusted with the flour mixture.
-
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan over medium low heat.
-
Add onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onion becomes transparent.
-
Add mushrooms and sauté for a minute or two until the mushrooms start sweating and browning slightly.
-
Transfer the vegetables to a saucepan.
-
Heat the remaining oil and butter in the frying pan over medium heat. Cook the beef strips, ensuring that both sides of the beef pieces are seared (note 4).
-
Transfer the beef to the saucepan with vegetables.
-
Add all the Hayashi Rice Gravy ingredients (note 5) to the pan and turn the heat on to high.
-
When the gravy around the edge starts bubbling, reduce the heat to low to medium low, and stir constantly for 30-45 seconds. Turn the heat off.
-
Place cooked rice on one side of each serving plate. Pour the Hayashi Rice Gravy on the other side. Serve immediately.
1. I used a porterhouse steak, which was about 2cm/¾" thick.
2. Paprika gives your Hayashi Rice a hint of spiciness. If you don’t like it or you don’t have it, you can omit it.
3. Instead of using home-made Demi-Glace, you can use store-bought Demi-Glace. Please see the sample canned Demi-Glace that I tried in the post.
Depending on the brand of your store-bought Demi-Glace, the flavour can be quite different from the home-made version. Some can be sweeter, and others can be more pungent.
4. I used a tender cut of beef, so you should not overcook the beef strips like stewing beef. It should take only a minute or so.
5. If you are using a store-bought Demi-Glace, taste it before adding the rest of the ingredients, and adjust the flavour of the Hayashi Rice Gravy by controlling the quantity of tomato ketchup and brown sugar to your liking.
6. Nutrition per serving. The nutrition information of Demi-Glace was obtained from the readily available data instead of calculating from the ingredients of my home-made Demi-Glace, which is almost impossible to do for me.
serving: 608g calories: 618kcal fat: 28g (36%) saturated fat: 11g (55%) trans fat: 0.2g polyunsaturated fat: 2.2g monounsaturated fat: 12g cholesterol: 64mg (21%) sodium: 1178mg (51%) carbohydrates: 68g (25%) dietary fibre: 2.4g (9%) sugar: 13g protein: 23g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 82mg (6%) iron: 5.4mg (30%) potassium: 1031mg (22%)
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
Although Hayashi Rice does not contain a large amount of meat, it is a heavy dish due to the rich gravy. A refreshing light salad such as Chinese Cabbage and Apple Salad will be a perfect match for it.
To supplement protein, I picked Broccoli and Soy Milk Soup instead of traditional miso soup or clear soup. But if you prefer traditional soup, Kenchinjiru would be a good pick.
- Main: Hayashi Rice (Hashed Beef with Rice) – today’s recipe, you can make make ahead.
- Salad: Chinese Cabbage and Apple Salad – or other light fresh salad.
- Soup: Broccoli and Soy Milk Soup – or Japanese Vegetable Soup (Kenchinjiru).
You got to meet Chef Sakai and Chef Kenichi?? I’ve been a big fan of the Japanese original Iron Chef series, it’s still the best one. Sakai and Kenichi were my favourite chefs, they were so accomplished and I learned a lot about Japanese cooking and the influences on their French and Chinese cooking styles. What a cool experience, thanks for sharing that!
Hi Kelly, I took a photo with them and even hugged Chen Kenichi, which embarrassed my children (hahaha). We all loved Iron Chef series on TV. That might have influenced my children’s desire to eat tasty food.