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Japanese Hamburger

Japanese hamburger 日式汉堡ハンバーグ

A pretty popular westernized dish in Japan. Juicy and flavorful.
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
resting 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Main Course
Cuisine fusion, Japanese

Equipment

  • 12“ frying pan
  • large mixing bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 oz bread crumbs (panko)
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 5-6 tbsp cooking wine
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 0.5 tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Finely chop the onion. Cook it at medium heat with a tbsp of oil for 3-4 mins. Divide the cooked onion into two portions
  • Remove the package, and add the ground beef to the mixing bowl. Use a fork to break the slab and loosen it up
  • Add black pepper, salt, egg, worcestershire sauce, milk, panko crumbs, and half of the cooked onion. Vigorouly mix for 4-5 mins
  • Cover the cutting board with a piece of plastic wrap. Pour 2-3 tbsp oil to a small bowl
  • Tap both hands to the oil and rub against each other to coat them with oil
  • Divide the seasoned beef into 4-6 portions. Take one portion at each time. Toss the meat ball (pattie) between two hands for 10-15 times to drive out air in the meat and make the surface smooth
  • Cover the patties with another piece of plastic wrap and rest for 30-40 mins
  • Add all patties to the pan, and turn the heat to medium. Cook each side for 2-3 mins.
  • Turn the heat to low. Add 3-4 tbsp cooking wine (or water, or red wine), and cover the pan with a lid, and cook for 5-6 mins. Poke the hamburger, and if the juice that comes out is clear, the cooking is done
  • Take out the hamburgers. Remove excess amount of oil/grease. Add tomato paste (or ketchup), cooking wine (or water, red wine), the other half of the onion, and worcestershire sauce. Reduce at low to medium heat for 3-4 mins. Adjust taste with an addition of salt. Turn off the heat
  • Add all the hamburgers to the pan to coat them with sauce
  • Serve with fries or veggies

Video

Notes

  • If you use 93% lean ground beef, you would need to add 1-2 tbsp oil when you cook the patties. On the other hand, if you use 80% lean beef, you don't need to add oil and would have to remove an excess amount of grease from the pan before making the sauce.
  • The cooking time highly depends on the size of the patties. I found dividing the beef into 4 portions (each portion is about 4 oz) to be ideal.
  • When chop the onion, I used a food processor. It turned out that's too fine. 
Keyword hamburger, Japanese food, Japanese steak, Japanese style hamburger, steak, ハンバーグ, 日式汉堡, 汉堡, 牛肉汉堡