Introduction:

Hamburger steak is a dish that is made from ground meat with chopped onions and molded into a round shape. It is a very popular dish for children in Japan and it is often made at home. You can find similar dishes in other countries but Japanese hamburger steak is soft and served with sauce. For the sauce, there are many variations like Japanese style (soy sauce based), Italian style (tomato based), and European style (demi-glace sauce based) so you can enjoy various tastes. In this recipe, the sauce will be the Japanese style using mushrooms and soy sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 250 grams minced meat (a blend of beef and pork)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 Tablespoons of cooking sake or white wine
  • 3 Tablespoons breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tablespoon milk
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
A
  • 1 egg
  • Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Teaspoon salt
  • Pepper

Sauce

  • 1/2 Shimeji mushroom
  • 1/2 Enoki mushroom
  • 15 grams of butter
  • Olive oil
  • A little potato starch mixed with water
B
  • 80 milliliters water
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons mirin or 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 Tablespoon ketchup


Instructions:

  1. Put breadcrumbs into a bowl and add milk to soak.
  2. Chop the onions. Add oil (not included in the ingredients listed above) into a frying pan and fry the onion until they get golden brown. When they are done, turn off the burner and cool them.
  3. Put the minced meat and cooking sake into the bowl and mix them well with your hands.
  4. Add the soaked breadcrumbs, fried onions, and ingredients from A into the bowl and mix them well until they get sticky.
  5. Divide the mixture into two halves and make them into an oval shape. Gently throw it from one hand to the other several times to remove the air from inside of the patty. Lightly press the center to form an indentation. After molding the patties, wrap them and put them into a flat tray and then put them in the refrigerator to chill for a while.
  6. Cut off the stems off all mushrooms. Cut the shimeji mushroom into florets and the enoki mushroom into 3-centimeter lengths.
  7. Pour olive oil into a frying pan and fry all the mushrooms from step 6 over medium heat. When the mushrooms are cooked, add the ingredients from B and blanch them for a few minutes before stopping the heat.
  9. Add oil to another frying pan and heat it. Put the hamburger patties into the heated frying pan and fry them until they get golden brown. Then, flip them over and cover the pan with its lid. Reduce the heat and cook them for about 10 minutes.
  10. Warm the ingredients from step 7. If the sauce is not thick enough, add the water and starch mixture.
  11. Pour the sauce from step 9 over the hamburger steak and simmer it for a while over medium heat. As a final addition, add the butter then sprinkle some pepper over the dish. Plate it up and enjoy!