JJapanese Food

Japanese onion gravy?

  • March 23, 2025


I'm looking for a recipe for the brown onion-based gravy used for Hamburg steak and other meats, in the picture – from a small place in Ureshino where they called it, I believe, Jambon sauce..? But searching that leads me different results. I also tasted it when I tried roast beef ōno in Tokyo so I'm hoping it's a popular recipe, hoping you can point me in the right direction.

by May_Chu

7 comments

  2. you can buy onion soup packets in the supermarket and use it when you make gravy during deglazing

  3. You might have to try recreating it yourself several times until you get it right. I’d start with grated onion, soy sauce, mirin, dashi or beef stock, and maybe a pat of butter.

    TBH I’m no expert, but I’ve been going through an obsession with Japanese home cooking lately. I’ve learned some basic concepts.

    Edit: thicken the gravy with a cornstarch slurry or preferably a potato starch slurry (the texture of potato starch is better in my opinion)

  5. There are already good responses but I can share a couple of my brown gravy recipes that have onion in them too m

    This one is a classic brown onion gravy:

    – 2 cups water
    – 4 tsp or cubes beef bouillon (that’s double the normal amount for broth)
    – 1/4 cup flour
    – 1/4 cup butter
    – 1 tsp onion powder
    – You can add soy sauce to taste

    1. Heat the water and bouillon together until steaming hot (about 90 seconds). Stir and set aside.
    2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
    3. Add the flour and onion powder, mixing to make a roux. Let this cook about 1 minute.
    4. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the beef stock. Stir with a whisk constantly to try to work out all of the lumps.
    5. Once heated to the point of starting to boil, turn the heat down and simmer 1 minute.
    6. If it turns out lumpy, use a sieve to get rid of the chunks. Makes 2 cups (or less if yours gets chunky and needs sieving)

    This one is more of a Japanese-Hawaiian style:

    – 1 1/2 cup beef stock
    – 4 tsp shoyu (soy sauce)
    – 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    – 2 tsp ketchup
    – 5 tsp cornstarch
    – 2 tbsp butter, divided
    – 2 tbsp minced sweet onion

    1. Mix together the beef stock, shoyu, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch. Whisk it until the cornstarch has come off of the bottom.
    2. Melt one tablespoon of the butter to caramelize the onions for about a minute.
    3. Melt the rest of the butter and add in the gravy mix to the pan. Keep stirring the gravy until it begins to thicken and simmer.

  7. Grate an onion, add a few tbsp of sake, mirin, soy. Garlic for more flavour. Put it over the Hamburg after it’s cooked though and simmer for 2-3mins or until it thickens as you desire.

Leave a Reply