I love donburi – Japanese one-bowl meals that consist of rice with various toppings. Some restaurants make a speciality out of the dish, but they should never make them too fancy. Donburi is comfort food - it shouldn’t inspire you to spend time trying to figure out how it’s made, or marvel at the cleverness of the chef.
For the beef, buy the type that’s sliced for hotpot, sukiyaki or shabu shabu. It’s hard for a home cook to slice the beef that thin.
If you don't have cooked Japanese rice, make some before preparing the beef and onion topping
Heat a pot of lightly salted water, add the edamame, cook for 30 seconds, then drain. If you want the edamame to have a brighter green colour, remove the thin membrane covering each soybean.
In a bowl, mix the beef with the soy sauce, sake, sugar, salt and sesame oil. Thinly slice the onion.
Heat a wok over a high flame then add 10ml (2tsp) of cooking oil and swirl the pan to coat it lightly. Add the onion and stir-fry until it’s wilted and crisp-tender.
Add the beef and marinade to the wok and mix with the onions. Stir-fry constantly until the beef just loses its pink colour – do not overcook. Taste the ingredients and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Turn off the flame.
Set a lightly oiled pan (either non-stick or well-seasoned cast iron) over a medium flame. When the pan is hot, cook two eggs sunny-side up.
Scoop hot steamed rice into two large individual-serving bowls. Divide the beef and onion mixture over the rice, then top each portion with an egg. Add the edamame and pickles to each bowl, scatter the furikake on top and serve immediately.