Gyūdon (牛丼), often literally translated into English as beef bowl\, is a Japanese dish consisting of a big bowl of rice topped with boiled beef and onion in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with soy. A very popular food in Japan, it is commonly served with pickled ginger and a side dish of miso soup. Gyu simply means beef, and don is an abbreviation for donburi, the generic name for a big bowl of rice with a topping.
Gyudon can be found in many Japanese restaurants and some fast food chains specialize exclusively in the dish. The largest gyudon chain in Japan is Yoshinoya.
On February 11, 2004, Yoshinoya in Japan (and most competitors) were forced to terminate gyudon sales due to ban of imports of American beef, imposed because of reports of BSE contamination.
