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Japanese interpretations of other cuisines


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In Canada too, hamburgers always contain just beef. Except for vegetarian versions, of course- I remember eating veggie burgers and tofu burgers when I went through my veggie phase...

My mom's recipe is similar to yours, Hiroyuki- just take out the pork and add a few more seasonings. And we used to use a lot more breadcrumbs, not just as a binder but as a cost-effective way to 'extend' the beef. We'd often also have store-bought ones on hand during BBQ season- I guess there is more selection in N. America because some of the store-bought ones can be pretty good. Not nearly as good as homemade, of course, but when the BBQ is going everyday mom gets tired of making patties...

I'm glad this thread was started because I've been thinking of making hamburger patties recently. I've actually never made hamburgers before (not a big beef eater) and never really wanted to either. But after seeing last week's "Dotchi no Ryouri" show I can't stop thinking about "locomoco". Locomoco is a Hawaiin donburi- a big juicy hamburger patty on top of rice, topped with a fried egg and covered in gravy. I can't stop thinking about this!

They made the burgers with carmelized onions, amoung other things, which made my mouth water. Not sure if that's what they do in Hawaii or if that was just the chef's idea.

Anyway, gonna try this tomorrow. Having never made hamburger patties before (how hard could it be??) I hope it's a success!

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

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from the Daily Nihongo thread:

we are going to leave the adjectives alone for a moment and talk about hamburgers, two new threads today got me thinking about this.

So for 5/14 we will discuss the difference between

ハンバーグ hambaagu (hahm-bah-goo)

ハンバーガー hambaagaa (hahm-baah-gaah)

hambaagu is a hamburger patty usually made with onions, bread crumbs, eggs, liguids, etc it is served steak style with no bun. At most restaurants in Japan this will be the only hamburger on the menu. You usually have a choice of a multitude of sauces to top it with.

hambaagaa is a good old hamburger with a bun, in Japan these are usually only available at fast food restarants. Not even Denny's or Big Boy offer them (though they are available at places like Hard Rock cafe and Friday's).

So when you are trying to order a hamburger pay special attention to that last syllable or you could find yourself with the wrong dish!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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My wife and I almost always make hamburger steaks at home. We are not satisfied with store-bought ones. I always enjoy the taste of the combination of beef and pork, and it always makes me wonder why Americans prefer "hamburgers" made from beef only. That's why I started the thread.

One thing I like at a local Japanese cafe is hanbaagu steak with ketchup spaghetti and salad, plus a ketchup and worcestershire sauce for dipping.

As for Americans and beef burgers, I think it's just always been that way, plus people really love beef and many see it as something essential for making a meal complete.

I would not like a mixed meat patty for a US style burger either. Would just taste wrong to me. But it would be ok for meatloaf.

Pat

"I... like... FOOD!" -Red Valkyrie, Gauntlet Legends-

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I don't think I've ever really seen mixed meat hamburgers in the States. Occasionally some people will through in a bit of onions, egg, or bread crumbs for their own personal burgers, but I've never seen something like that offered in a restaurant. If you go too far with the binders, you end up tasting too meat-loafy.

My favorite is the simple hamburger. I like a good, juicy, rare (all beef!) burger, covered with cold lettuce, tomato and carmelized (or raw, sweet) onions. On some type of toasted bun. As long as the beef is good and not overcooked I don't really need cheese or sauce.

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Have you read this article?

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/dining/26MINI.html

I found this in the following thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry615564

The interesting passage in this article is:

Thus one can argue that a burger of half-pork and half-beef is tops in the meat world, better than the standard all-beef version because of its enhanced taste and "chew."

What do you think?

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Because of the ridiculously high price of 100% ground beef in Japan, I often BBQ hamburgers that are a pork and beef mix. It isn't bad and makes a decent burger but personally I prefer the taste of 100% beef. I also like to eat my burger very rare and I am not comfortable doing that with ground pork.

EDIT:

A mix of meats make an incrdible meatloaf though, way better than one with beef only.....

Edited by torakris (log)

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 2 months later...

made some fruit sando the other day...

fresh peach / fresh banana

040813fruitSando.jpg

fresh strawberry / canned mandarin oranges

only the peach sandwiches were so-so. they were too sour and crunchy (basically not ripe, even though they were soft -- yech)...

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
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What kind of bread is that? Don't it get soggy real fast?

it is japanese toast bread. white sandwich bread from a japanese bakery.

i suppose the fat in the whipped cream acts like butter (it _is_ partly butter, innit?) and that helps a lot in keeping the sandwiches from getting soggy too quickly. they hold quite nicely for hours in the fridge, though they dont usually last more than 10 minutes...

does this qualify as "english" food? i dont think english people eat these, though.

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
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  • 3 weeks later...

didnt know whether or not to post this in the menchi katsu thread, but here it is!

040901menchiSando.jpg

this menchi did not have any cabbage that i could taste or see. a little bit of tonkatsu sauce was squeezed on the top of the menchi. the locally baked bun was simple and fresh, not too much mayo spread on top, the tomato slice was flavorful (not mealy at all) and the cukes and iceberg lettuce were watery-crispy, a very nice crunchy contrast to the menchi. EXCELLENT deal at usd$1.50.

since moving to LA, i have found it difficult to avoid iceberg lettuce, which i detested. but i keep finding it in my food. somehow, i have come to accept it as edible. and now i even _appreciate_ it in my sandwiches!

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
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Wow, all that for only 1.50! great deal. I love menchi/any katsu sandwiches. KFC here has one of a chicken katsu that is dipped in this wonderful sweet-spicy tonkatsu like sauce.... :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Pizza with corn... uh... yuck.

The first Japanese pizza I had was on the Shinkansen back in 1976. Onion pizza... it was the worst pizza I have ever had.

I saved a newspaper insert last time I visited Japan because the photo's of the pizzas were so strange. Squid and corn pizza? There were at least 20 photo's of the weirdest combinations. I'm sorry, I feel I have an open mind when it comes to food but I'm a purist when it comes to pizza. I refuse to eat Japanese styles of pizza, they're just not what nature intended :raz: ... NY style cheese pizza for me please, maybe with pepperoni.

"Live every moment as if your hair were on fire" Zen Proverb

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Thanks for the links Kris!

Japanese use of english in advertising is so funny! I love the names "Gorgeous 4" and the "Curry Idaho" pizza on the pizza hut web site!

To be honest with you, when I started saying the names of some of the pizza's out loud, the ingredients actually started to make sense to me. They actually sound... shall I say... gourmet?

Spicy calamari pizza... Korean purukogi... carbonara...

They actually sound pretty good.

I take back some of my earlier comments on Japanese pizza, but I still stand by my statement of ... Pizza on the Shinkansen is horrible! :biggrin:

"Live every moment as if your hair were on fire" Zen Proverb

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  • 1 month later...

ive had this a couple times in the san francisco bay area. i like the taste although i find that the sizzling oil can get on my clothes (maybe i should put a napkin on my neck...). but still, i like pepperlunch.

as for price in the states, they are in the middle. not fast food cheap, but not expensive either.

as far as i know, there is one and only one pepperlunch branch in the states (in fremont, ca). too bad they have not opened up in the the los angeles area... i think the have also opened up shot in seoul, korea too!

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
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  • 1 year later...

Last night I made one version of a Japanese style "hamburger"

I added some chopped up renkon (lotus root) for crunch, pan fried them and then topped them with grated daikon and ponzu.

gallery_6134_1960_29157.jpg

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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In the Ponzu thread, torakris has posted a photo of some gorgeous looking pork patties. I have some ground pork in the 'fridge just waiting for an idea. Kristin, can you share your ingredients for these "pork burgers"? Many thanks. :smile:

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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In the Ponzu thread, torakris has posted a photo of some gorgeous looking pork patties.  I have some ground pork in the 'fridge just waiting for an idea.  Kristin, can you share your ingredients for these "pork burgers"?  Many thanks.  :smile:

Anna,

These are usually something I just through together with what ever is in the house...

The general seasonings I use are salt and pepper (I prefer white in these), soy sauce and sake along with one egg. I might add some cornstarch if I will be making a pan sauce (teriyaki style) to go with them. Depending on the ingredients I might also squeeze in some ginger juice.

I added renkon (lotus root) to these because I love the crunch. I almost always add scallions but I didn't have any in the house. Other additions I like are (not all at once!) garlic chives, enoki mushrooms, bamboo shoots, hijiki, etc.

Depending on my mood theya re usually served with a ponzu sauce (like above) or a teriyaki sauce.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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In the Ponzu thread, torakris has posted a photo of some gorgeous looking pork patties.  I have some ground pork in the 'fridge just waiting for an idea.  Kristin, can you share your ingredients for these "pork burgers"?  Many thanks.   :smile:

Anna,

These are usually something I just through together with what ever is in the house...

The general seasonings I use are salt and pepper (I prefer white in these), soy sauce and sake along with one egg. I might add some cornstarch if I will be making a pan sauce (teriyaki style) to go with them. Depending on the ingredients I might also squeeze in some ginger juice.

I added renkon (lotus root) to these because I love the crunch. I almost always add scallions but I didn't have any in the house. Other additions I like are (not all at once!) garlic chives, enoki mushrooms, bamboo shoots, hijiki, etc.

Depending on my mood theya re usually served with a ponzu sauce (like above) or a teriyaki sauce.

Not the healthiest lunch I have ever eaten but one of the tastiest ones.

gallery_6903_111_25657.jpg

As I mixed the pork with scallions, salt, and white pepper, a little garlic, soy sauce, sake and egg, it occured to me that this would make a great filling for potstickers! Since these are my current fad food, I used some to make a batch with a ponzu dipping sauce on the side.

Kristin, it would never have occured to me to use Japanese flavours in a simple pork pattie but it was a revelation. Thanks for sharing.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Think of some of the most popular yoshoku dishes you can AND THEN put them all on one dish!

Apparently someone did this and now it is a speciality of Nagasaki known as turuko-raisu. In English we would probably translate this as Turkey (as in the country) Rice.

I had never heard of this and it doesn't seem to be too popular outside of Nagasaki...

The dish consists of pilaf, spaghetti and a type of meat (tonkatsu seems to be the most common).

Pictures of the many variations of Turkey Rice

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 2 years later...
Let me list the main ingredients of Japanese hamburger steaks (4 servings):

Minced beef and pork:  350 g

Onions:  1

Bread crumbs:  tbsp 3

Milk:  tbsp 3

Eggs:  1

Pepper

And how to make (only briefly):

1.  Finely chop the onion and sautee until tender.  Let it cool.

2.  Add some salt to the minced meat and knead well (for about 1 minute?)

3.  Add the onion, the mixture of bread crumbs and milk, egg, and pepper to the meat and mix well.

4.  Divide it into 4 equal parts and grill in the frying pan.

The sauce varies from person to person and family to family.  Some pour ketchup only, others a mixture of kethup and tonkatu sauce.  My family prefer the "assari" sauce that we make by putting equal amounts of soy sauce and mirin (fake) in the frying pan and heating for some time (after removing the steaks).

how much minced meat is there total? is it 350 gr or 700 gr? just wondering. thanks so much!

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
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how much minced meat is there total?  is it 350 gr or 700 gr?  just wondering.  thanks so much!

Hiroyuki will confirm, but it's very likely 350g total. Japanese recipes often specify a ground mixture of pork and beef (as one ingredient).

Plus 700g is a huge amount for a typical Japanese recipe. Enough to feed a family of eight.

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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how much minced meat is there total?  is it 350 gr or 700 gr?  just wondering.  thanks so much!

Hiroyuki will confirm, but it's very likely 350g total. Japanese recipes often specify a ground mixture of pork and beef (as one ingredient).

Plus 700g is a huge amount for a typical Japanese recipe. Enough to feed a family of eight.

Sanrensho is correct. 350 g in total. Thus, if you choose the beef-to-pork ratio of 7:3 (which is said an ideal ratio for hamburgers in Japan), 245 g beef and 105 pork.

I must confess that most hamburgers that I make are 100% pork (or chicken).

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