Japanese hamburger steak or hambagu is a popular Western-style Japanese dish enjoyed at home, at yoshoku (Western-style) restaurants, or in Bentos. The thick, juicy hamburger patty with a sweet, tangy sauce is the perfect combo with rice.
Hamburger Steak Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef—In Japan, grocery stores carry a mixture of ground beef and ground pork, and most hamburger steak recipes use both types of meat. If you want to use a 3:1 ratio of ground beef and pork, that would be more similar to the ones you find in Japan. However, I don’t find it necessary to buy more ingredients, as I like to keep it simple. And I don’t think it makes a huge difference.
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs—Adding breadcrumbs will make the hamburger patty softer and fluffier as it soaks up a lot of the meat juice and flavor. You can omit them if you don’t like breadcrumbs or like to keep it gluten-free. However, the hamburger steak may be a little stiffer. Use unflavored breadcrumbs.
- 2 tbsp milk – can substitute for water
- 1 egg – egg will help bind the meat together and help it stay intact while it cooks
- 1/2 onion chopped and browned—browning the onion is optional. However, it adds a hint of sweetness and flavor. If you use raw onions, they will still be a little crunchy after cooking the hamburger, which some people prefer. If I don’t have time to brown onions, I will use raw onions as well. It is important to also cool the brown onions before mixing them in with the ground beef mixture.
- 1 tbsp butter – adding butter while browning onions will add more flavor
- salt and pepper
Making the sauce:
Typically, there are two different ways Japanese hamburger steak is served: Japanese and Western. The Japanese-style hamburger steak is served with grated daikon and a soy sauce-based sauce, which is very refreshing. This recipe is for a Western-style hamburger steak with a demi glace-style sauce. However, I usually don’t have red wine, so this is an improvised version of demi-glace.
- 4 tbsp Tonkatsu sauce – this is Japanese version of Worcestershire sauce. It is a little thicker and sweeter than Worcestershire.
- 2 tbsp Ketchup – this adds tomato aspect of the demiglace sauce
- 1 tbsp Mayo – mayo adds a little more creaminess to the sauce
- 4 tbsp water – substitue with red wine or beef broth to add more flavor to the sauce
Tips to make the best Hamburger Steak:
- Brown onions – this adds sweetness and flavor to the hamburger. If you add raw onions, they sometimes still have a crunch even after the hamburger is cooked. Make sure to cool the onions before putting them in the beef mixture.
- Remove air bubbles from hamburger – make sure to pat down the patty by throwing it from your left hand to your right hand. This will remove the air bubbles in the patty and will make for a more even patty when it is cooked.
- Use the same pan from cooking the hamburger to making the sauce – I remove some of the drippings if there are too much, but using the drippings from cooking the hamburger will add more flavor to the sauce.
Japanese Hamburger Steak
Japanese Hamburger Steak or hambagu is a popular Western style Japanese dish. The thick, juicy hamburger patty with a sweet, tangy sauce is the perfect combo with rice.
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 frying pan
Ingredients
Hamburger steak ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef sub for 3:1 ratio of ground beef and ground pork
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 onion chopped and browned
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper
Sauce ingredients
- 4 tbsp tonkatsu sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp mayo
- 2 tbsp water sub for red wine, beef/chicken broth
Instructions
Make the hambuger steak
- Start by chopping onion and sautee in a pan
- Add salt and butter to onion
- Pan fry until brown
- Set aside the onion in fridge to cool down
- Make sure onion is chilled before using
- In a bowl, mix in ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, sauteed onion, salt, and pepper
- Knead the beef mixture really well until all the ingredients are fully incorporated
- Section the beef mixture into fourths (if you want to make smaller hamburger steaks, feel free to do so)
- Scoop 1/4 of the beef mixture in one hand and shape into an oval
- Toss the hamburger from one hand to the other hand to remove air pockets. This will make sure the hamburger cooks evenly without cracking
- On medium heat, cook one side of the hamburger until brown (about 5 min)
- Once it has a nice browning on one side of the hamburgers, flip the them over
- Cover the pan and lower the heat to low
- Once the hamburgers are fully cooked internally (about 10 minutes), remove them from the heat. I usually just crack one hamburger open to see that the inside is no longer red and raw. If you have a thermometer, then that will be more accurate.
- Cook time will depend on size and thickness of the hamburger, so make sure to check. (USDA recommends internal temp for ground beef to reach 160F)
Make the Sauce
- Using the same pan, remove some of the oil from the hamburger using a paper towel. I leave about 2 tbsp of beef dripping for flavor
- Add tonkatsu sauce, ketchup, mayo, and water
- Cook on medium heat for a few minutes until the sauce thickens
- Remove from heat and serve it on top of the hamburger steak or on the side
- Serve and enjoy
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