Monday, June 20, 2011

Dinner the Other Night...Japanese Style Hamburg Steak Made w/Tofu :o)


Japanese Hamburg Steak Served w/Zucchini & Rice

I'm still trying to switch over to Wordpress, but it's just not happening yet ;o)  I'm not sure exactly why it's not working.  Maybe someone can enlighten me...  I registered the domain as a .com, but that's not showing up on my domain list.  The wordpress.com one does show up.  I got a receipt from Paypal saying that I registered the .com site. It's been a week since I registered it and I also contacted WP about it on Thurs, but haven't heard back from them. On their site it says it can take up to 72 hrs, but it's way over that type frame!    Ugggghhhhhh!

Ok, so about my Hamburg Steak :o)  It's another Japanese comfort food dish that I grew up with. I love how the Japanese come up with their own version of "western" stuff or they call it Yoshoku.  It's basically a meatloaf made into a burger patty. It's sort of like a Salisbury Steak.  My theory is that in Japan, people don't eat a lot of beef and a meatloaf would either just be too big for the family or it wouldn't fit in the oven to cook since their's are so small. Typically, it is made with just ground beef and the regular stuff you'd put in a meatloaf and then served with a plain brown sauce made with soy sauce, tonkatsu sauce & ketchup.  I mentioned that ketchup is used in unusual ways in Japan in my post of Roast Chicken stuffed with Ketchup Fried Rice.  Every family has their own recipe for Hamburg Steak. I kicked it up a bit by using the meat I ground for my Green Chile Cheeseburgers and adding tofu to it to lighten it up a bit.

Post about grinding meat...

Post about ketchup being used in unusual ways...


Squeezing Moisture Out of Tofu...

When I add tofu to my meat mixture I squeeze out the water first.  I put it on a cutting board with paper towels then put more paper towels on top and then put something heavy on it like a saucepan filled with water and a pyrex measuring cup filled with water (I know, sounds complicated)  and  let it sit for about 30 mins.

Hamburg Steak Mixture...

I had ground my own meat when I made Green Chile Cheeseburgers the night before.  The blend was:  Beef Chuck, Beef Short Rib, Pork Butt & Bacon.  The bacon adds extra tastiness;o)  When I add tofu I don't use breadcrumbs in the mixture.  The mix was:  Ground Meat, Tofu, Eggs, Sauteed Onions & Garlic and seasonings including soy sauce, ajishio & Magic Dust.  I just noticed that I didn't put any milk in it...lol  I guess I really didn't need it since I didn't use breadcrumbs in it and I certainly did not miss it.

Blended...

Here in the US it seems like they always say not to handle your meat too much when you make meatloaf and meatballs, but in Japan they mix it up alot!  I made spaghetti & meatballs once and had my sister-in-law from Japan mix it up for me and she mixed it so much that it almost seemed like she put air into it, so the meatballs were super fluffy and light!  She mixes it by hand like I do, but I can't get it as airy as she can;o)  I like adding the tofu to make it a little healthy, I'm definitely not known for my healthy cooking, but I try a little sometimes...lol  You can't even tell that tofu is in it when it's done. It's about 50/50 tofu to meat...maybe just a tad more meat, so 60/40 :o)

Cooking in a Cast Iron Skillet...

I cook it about 3-4 mins on each side covered.  I don't want it over done because I put it back in the sauce to heat it through.

Mushroom Sauce...

After taking the "steaks" out of the pan, I sauted garlic, onion & mushrooms (I used Shimeji Mushrooms) then deglazed with a little bit of wine then added soy sauce, tonkatsu sauce, Japanese Worchestershire sauce,  ketchup & water.  You can add just about any flavoring that you like!  I then added a potato starch (Japanese use Potato Starch more than using Corn ) slurry to thicken it up and then added the "steaks" back in to warm them up.

Japanese Tonkatsu  & Worchestershire Sauce

Bulldog brand is the most common...  Love these sauces;o)

Japanese Version...

Hubby really enjoys this meal especially with the tofu added.  You can make the sauce a little bit more soupy if you like...

vs American Style Salisbury Steak ;o)

I made this about a year ago, see how similar it is to the Hamburg Steak...


23 comments:

  1. I LOVE tofu hamburg! We usually use ground chicken to make tofu hhamburg. Your pictures are really good Kayo! Doremo oishisooo! Even the ingredients in the mixture looks very nice! I see your eggs... so fresh (very yellow yolk so I assume you use good ones!). I really like you use good ingredients for what you are cooking. It makes a huge difference at the end! I have a huge cravings for hamburg now and thank you for letting me know what's Salisbury Steak means. I now know what it looks like! ;-)

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  2. I love hambagaaaaa!!! LOL I agree the secret to japanese hamburg steak is totally whipping the meat with your hand. I should try it with the tofu, I normally do a meat/pork mixture but Tofu would make a little more guilt free.

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  3. This looks delicious! Your photos are beautiful too!

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  4. This looks awesome! I have never had Hamburg before, but it looks like I am totally missing out!

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  5. Wow, this looks fantastic. I've never heard of Shimeji Mushrooms before, but I would imagine any type would do. I'm not a big tofu fan, but this is a perfect use for it; healthy without being noticed. I love the idea. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  6. I have to try mixing tofu to the ground meat. It seems like a great way to make a lighter, airier burger. I usually add breadcrumbs, but I never thought of adding tofu!

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  7. Both the hamburg and salisbury look great!

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  8. Hi Kay! Tks for dropping over to leave a msg for me and I'm so looking forward to your version using Teriyaki Sauce! Must be very yummy! *so excited* :D
    Mouth-watering tofu hamburg Esp. with those sauces that you mixed! Your American Style Salisbury Steak is delish too! I LOVE BOTH! ^.^
    Btw, if I were to use only the Worchestershire Sauce, can I use potato starch to thicken it coz it's more watery than the Tonkatsu Sauce. I didn't want to buy Tonkatsu Sauce first as I haven't even use the Worchestershire Sauce that I bought yet! My mama is already nagging at me for buying so many sauces but not using them at all! :P (coz I'm not really sure what can I cook with them... hee...)

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  9. Nami, I never thought about using ground chicken, but that sounds really good! Very healthy too compared to beef/pork. Thank you for noticing the ingredients, you are right, it really does make a difference :o) So funny about Salisbury Steak, the only type I used to know was the frozen TV Dinners I used to have as a kid!

    Thanks, Savory :o)

    Lindsey, you are too funny...hammmbbaaagaa..yay :o) Yes, try cutting it with tofu and it makes nice and fluffy!

    Thank you for the sweet compliment, Happy!

    Thanks Erin, sometime there are some obscure Japanese dishes;o)

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  10. Hi Mom Chef, yes, you can use any mushroom. I just happened to have the Japanese Shimeji handy at the time. I hope that you do try this sometime, you really can't tell that tofu is in there. If others in your family don't like tofu and you don't tell them you put it in, they would never know...lol

    Thanks, Rosemary, I would have thought for sure you have seen this since you know so many Japanese recipes;o)



    Pola, I also used to just use breadcrumbs and then I'm not sure how I got the idea of using tofu instead. I think I saw a pre-mixed tofu burger package and may have gotten the idea from that;o) I'm pretty sure it was just a spice blend and it said to use both beef and tofu with the mix, so I decided to make Hamburg Steak this way...

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  11. Hi Lyn, I'm looking forward to making the paper wrapped chicken. I just need to go out and buy the parchment paper.

    Sure, just using the W Sauce with potato/corn starch would work. You could even use flour if that is all that you had. The ketchup does add a nice little tang and sweetness to it too. I know about buying to many condiments! You should see my fridge and pantry!

    Thanks for your sweet compliments too :o)

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  12. Tks Kay! :D
    So I'm not alone! *phew* :P
    So the W Sauce is similar to Tonkatsu sauce but the only thing is that W sauce is more watery right?

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  13. Lyn, W Sauce is more watery and Tonkatsu Sauce is sweeter. Some people even use Oyster Sauce! If you don't use Tonkatsu Sauce and you want it sweeter, just add a bit of sugar, but you probably won't need it.

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  14. Tks so much for the info Kay! I shall try that very soon! :D

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  15. What a unique recipe and gorgeous dish...I don't eat meat but I think this is a wonderful idea :)

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  16. Never seen tofu mixed with ground beef before! I have to try this one :) I wish I could help you with the WP stuff, my boyfriend does it all the website stuff for me! I just type up my blogs :P

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  17. Very very Japanese take on a beef patty. From the prep, cooking and presentation. :)
    Sounds like you're taking blogging to a next level huh? Wow... dot com! Hahaha.

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  18. Magic, that's a huge compliment from a vegetarian :o)

    Danielle, hope you do try this one day and thanks about trying to help w/WP, I think I'm slowly figuring it out!

    Pierre, yes, I very Japanese, and yes, hopefully, I will have .com up and running soon :o)

    Thanks, George!

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  19. I really like the idea of adding tofu to the burger. I do it with fish but never thought of mixing it with beef. This burger sounds so delish I will have to try it soon. Thanks for the idea :)

    Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your migration to Wordpress. You are suing wordpress.com and not wordpress.org? I am not familiar with .com

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  20. Misspelled my name! That's for typing too fast and not stopping to check :(

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  21. I love this recipe!!! Kecker, your page is a wealth of exciting dishes to try. Thanks for sharing sis! =)

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