KYODO NEWS - May 8, 2019 - 22:56 | Lifestyle, All

Japanese fast-food restaurant operator Yoshinoya Holdings Co. said it will start selling on Thursday a bowl of beef on vegetables, instead of the usual steamed rice, responding to requests from health-conscious people.

The beef bowl restaurant chain said Wednesday its first-ever "beef bowl" without rice has been made in collaboration with fitness club chain Rizap Group Inc. Yoshinoya operates in the United States, China and other countries, but the new product is expected to only be sold in Japan, according to an official.

Yoshinoya's typical beef bowl, or "gyudon," refers to a bowl of steamed rice served with cooked beef and sweet onion.

Its new dish will use the same beef and onion, but will also be prepared with broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and beans and a half-boiled egg. It will be sold at 540 yen ($4.9) per bowl.

Although the product weighs more than 300 grams, the new bowl has reduced the number of calories by 30 percent and carbohydrates by 80 percent compared with the medium-size usual beef bowl, the company said.

A single bowl can offer one-third of the recommended vegetable intake per day, it also said.

"We tried to respond to requests from customers who want to eat gyudon but are worried" about staying in shape, Rizap said in its press release.