Japanese-style Hamburger Steak – Hambagu ハンバーグ
In Canada, we grew up calling this dish Salisbury steak and it traditionally was served with a mushroom gravy. I’ve heard that if you grew up in Germany you probably know it as Hamburg steak. In Japan they call this Hambagu ハンバーグ. It is served with a sauce that is more like a tonkatsu sauce and it is delicious.
It’s so interesting that around the world we share the same types of comfort food. I like the Japanese flavours and this is my take on their version.
It is truly comfort food and I hope you will give this recipe a try. Enjoy!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean organic ground beef (in Japan they use a mix of ground pork and beef)
- 1 large white onion, chopped fine
- 2 tsps. butter
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes (most recipes call for ketchup, but I prefer the texture this adds to the sauce and it keeps the sugar content down)
- 1/2 cup red wine (I am allergic to red wine so I use 1/2 cup of vermouth instead and it adds a herbaceous tang to the sauce).
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Finely chop the onions, then sauté them in 1 tsp. of butter until they are translucent. Set them aside till they have cooled.
- In a large bowl add ground meat, egg, breadcrumbs, black pepper, pinch of nutmeg, salt and cooled fried onions.
- Mix the meat mixture really well with your hands until the mixture is a bit sticky.
- Divide the mixture into good size patties.
- Pat the patties in your hands, moving them from hand to hand to get out any air in the meat from mixing.
- Form the meat into oval shaped patties.
- In a saucepan, add a little oil and place the patties in the pan.
- Gently indent in the centre of each patty so they cook evenly.
- Pepper the patties again.
- Cook on medium high heat for five minutes.
- Flip the burgers to the other side and cook for 3 minutes on medium high heat.
- Pour wine or vermouth into the pan and place a cover on the saucepan.
- Steam the patties on medium heat for an additional five minutes.
- Remove the patties to a warm plate and prepare the sauce.
- Into the sauce pan add a teaspoon of butter, add the tomatoes and sauté for 4 minutes, be sure to scrap all the little goodies off the sides of the pan.
- Stir in worstershire sauce and mustard. Cook until sauce thickens.
- Serve patties smothered with sauce.
- In Japan they serve these patties with white rice. You can also serve them with mashed potatoes.
Ok, so I know i’m biased, but I need to tell you this is the BEST dish ever!!! I would eat this every day if the the chef (Gail) would let me! Ha Ha , no seriously you have to try this … the sauce is killer! I love this dish.
I have made it so many times and I am thrilled you still love it!