Hamburg Steak

"Hamburg" steak, a Japanese variation of the hamburger, is very popular home cooking meal, especially for children. It is also a popular item in bento boxes (Japanese lunch boxes). It is softer than hamburger meat, so it's good with steamed rice. It's commonly served in family restaurants, as well as entire restaurants dedicated to it, called "hamburg restaurants". There are many kinds of hamburg in Japan, Japanese sauce, cream sauce, cheese, tofu etc. This recipe is the most common style.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef and/or pork
  
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 1/2 medium onion (diced)
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 1/2 tbs panko + 1 tbs milk (mixed)
  

Spices

• 2 tsp okonomiyaki sauce
  
• 2 tsp ketchup
  
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup milk
• dash salt and pepper
• dash nutmeg
• 1 tsp flour
  

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan then cook onion and carrot for 5 minutes over medium heat
   
2. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. Cool by placing bowl in larger bowl of ice water (don't submerge)
   
3. After vegetables cool, add meat and knead with your hands. Add panko/milk mixture, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and knead
   
4. Roll out 4 large patties
5. Sprinkle flour on top of the patties and make a dent in the center of each
6. Heat the frying pan, lie the patties face down (flour side down), and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat
7. Flip patties, cover and cook for five minutes on low
8. Flip again, and cook for an additional 3 minutes
9. Remove burgers, clean and grease the pan, then add butter, garlic, and mixed sauce (okonomiyaki, ketchup, oyster sauce, and milk). Cook for 30 seconds, then
   pour on top of burgers
   

Modifications

1. Substitute BBQ or steak sauce for sauce mixture