Today, I’d like to share with you how to make hamburger steak from episode 1 of The Way of the Househusband（極主夫道). In Japan, it’s a very popular Western food called ”Yoshoku (洋食)” and is loved by both children and adults.
Hamburger steak is mainly made by mixing minced meat (beef, pork, or mix) and chopped vegetables with panko breadcrumbs, adding salt to make it sticky, and using eggs as a binding ingredient to harden it. Then it will be cooked in a frying pan (or in an oven in some cases). Serve with your favorite sauce.
Types of Sauces for Hamburger Steak
In Japan, there are many sauces such as tomato sauce, demi-glace sauce, and shariapin sauce, as well as Japanese-style sauces such as teriyaki sauce and soy sauce-based sauce with grated radish.
The sauce of the hamburger steak from The Way of The Househusband seems tomato-based one. In this recipe, I added red wine to the ketchup-based sauce for richness and soy sauce to give it a Japanese flavor.
Important Ingredients
A special characteristic of the Japanese “hamburger steak” is that it is made tender and juicy by adding a lot of binders such as chopped onions and panko, bread crumbs. The mixing of non-meat ingredients used to be for economic reasons, to reduce the amount of meat. However, it is the key to the flavor of the Japanese hamburger steak now.
Onions
In my recipe, I add raw minced onions to the ground meat to bring out the texture of the onions. On the other hand, there is another way to add stir-fried onions, although it takes a little more time. The first one lets you enjoy the texture, while the second one lets you taste the sweetness.
Panko
Instead of using store-bought bread crumbs (Panko), use bread that has been shredded and blanched in milk for more texture and a mellower taste. Another benefit is that it is easier to use bread than to go out and buy panko!
Information
| PREP TIME: 10 mins | COOK TIME: 15 mins | TOTAL TIME: 25 mins |
| COURSE: Side Dish | CUISINE: Japanese | SERVINGS: 4 people |
Ingredients
- 400 g ground pork / beef / mix
- 1 egg
- 1 minced medium-sized onion
- 1 slice shredded sandwich bread without bread crust
- 6 tbsp milk / plant-based milk
- 3 pinches salt
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- a little freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
- 5 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
To Form
- Place all A ingredients in a bowl.
- Hold the bowl with your left hand and mix the ingredients firmly with your right hand to make the patty.
- Mix all the ingredients by repeatedly squeezing and opening your hands until it becomes sticky.
- Divide into 4 equal pieces and shape into ovals.
- Toss it lightly from one hand to the other to remove the air.
- When the center of the oval patty is lightly pressed, the forming process is complete. (When the patty is cooked, the center will puff up, so press down lightly when forming. If you press down too much, the center will lose its volume and become flat, so make sure to press down lightly.)
To Cook
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and then gently place the patty in it.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, turning over with a turner when browned.
- Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a heatproof dish and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 10-15 minutes. DON’T wash the frying pan yet. (The baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the patty.)
- Place a bamboo skewer in the center of the thickest part of patty. It is cooked when clear juices come out from there.
To Make Sauce
- Add all the seasonings B to the frying pan in which the meat was cooked and heat over low heat.
- After it is lightly simmered, serve it over the hamburger steak.
