Vegan Wafu Hamburger Steak

(和風ハンバーグステーキ)

Vegan Japanese Style Hamburger Steak

Hambāgu (ハンバーグ), or Japanese Hamburger Steak (ハンバーグステーキ) is a popular Yoshoku meal (western-influenced Japanese dish) that is normally made from ground meat with finely chopped onions, eggs and breadcrumbs, flavoured with various spices, and made into a flat, oval shape about 4 cm thick. It is related to Salisbury steak, which uses ground beef and considered the origin of the hamburger.

I first came across it at a vegan restaurant in Tokyo where it came out sizzling on hot cast iron plates with a side of vegetables and rice rather than buns.

In Japan, the dish dates back to the Meiji period and is believed to have been first served in Yokohama, which was one of the first ports opened to foreigners. Hamburg steak became popular during the 1960s as a more affordable way to serve otherwise costly meat.

Some variations include hanbāgu topped with cheese (チーズハンバーグ, or chīzuhanbāgu), hanbāgu with Japanese curry, and Italian hanbāgu with tomato sauce.

Today I’m going to share with you my All Plant based recipe in a wafu style.

Wafu 和風 food is the meeting of Japanese ingredients and western cooking I will be making Hamburger Steak with the super firm “Shizenno Megumi” tofu from dragonfly foods and choosing Japanese grated daikon, chopped shiso leaves and umeboshi paste on top, along with a thin ponzu dressing to serve this Yoshoku meal (western-influenced Japanese dish)

Ingredients:

You will need x1 pack of the super firm Shizenno Megumi Tofu drained of the liquid it’s packed in.

1/2 cup of walnuts pulsed into crumbs

1/2 an onion and a few shiitake mushrooms chopped finely

x4 tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 tablespoons of potato starch

1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

1 tablespoon tomato purée

Salt & pepper

Oil for frying

Method:

Place the drained tofu in a muslin cloth or similar and squeeze out as much water as possible then tip this into a bowl with the pulsed walnut crumbs. Mix to combine.

Sauté the chopped onion and mushrooms in a little oil until tender then add to the tofu. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine.

I find it better to use your hands to get it properly mixed into a ball then you can divide the mixture into burger patties. Make four balls then flatten them slightly to make a thick oval burger and dust with a little potato starch.

Heat up some oil in a pan and fry on a low heat to start with then turn up the heat turning them over so they are browned on both sides.

Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for a further ten minutes.

Ponzu sauce

You can serve the burgers with a citrus ponzu

Equal amounts of soy sauce or tamari, yuzu juice and mirin or you can buy store bought. To make it extra fiery you could add a small amount of kuzu kosho. 

Alternatively you can serve it with a thick tonkatsu style sauce. You can again buy store bought or make a quick easy style with equal amounts of ketchup,vegan Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup.

To make the Hambāgu wafu 和風 add grated daikon to the top of the burger this is known as daikon oroshi it is a Japanese condiment made from grated daikon radish that’s known for its refreshing, tangy flavor and fluffy texture. The word “oroshi” means “to grate or shred”.

To grate finely i recommend using a Japanese grater called a Kyocera ceramic grater 京セラ セラミックおろし器.

I also topped the Hambāgu with chopped shiso and umeboshi paste.

To serve.

It is recommended that you serve Hamburger Steak with chunky steamed vegetables and roast or baked potatoes along with rice and miso soup.

They are also perfect for the Tsukurioki method of cooking which I wrote about in my Kiku no Sekku blog post back in September, which means pre-made or put aside. If you do not intend to eat them straight away just leave to cool and put them in a container in the freezer. They make the perfect meal for a busy week night. Just take out the night before to defrost then warm through and serve with your choice of vegetables the next day.

I would say that Hambāgu is like a single serve vegan meat loaf you may even consider this as an alternative to a Christmas nut roast served with all the trimmings.