Japanese Ginger Beef Rice Burger

Burgers are pretty popular in Japan–one of many yoshoku (foods that originated outside Japan) that have been soundly embraced by Japanese consumers. Alongside global chains like Burger King and McD’s are some fabulous Japanese brands such as Mos Burger, Lotteria and Freshness Burger. These chains have developed the original American-style burger to suit local palates and to cater to the Japanese enthusiasm for constant innovation; one such idea is using “buns” made of rice instead of bread.

Konbini (Japanese convenience stores) have also embraced the idea of a rice burger, and this recipe from Konbini: Cult recipes, stories and adventures from Japan’s iconic convenience stores by Brendan Liew and Caryn Ng is based on a rice burger filled with ginger beef that is sold in the freezer section of many konbini stores.

Read our full cookbook review of Konbini by Brendan Liew and Caryn Ng, here.

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5 from 2 votes

Rice Buns with Shigureni (Ginger Beef Rice Burger)

The rice burger was first made famous by Japan’s MOS Burger, which has wedged yakiniku (grilled beef), kakiage (tempura seafood and vegetables), unagi (eel), tsukune (meatballs) and even okonomiyaki between rice buns for years. You can now find these in konbini in the freezer section. I prefer the crisp rice buns to regular buns, though they do fall apart more easily, so the burger is best eaten over a plate or wrapper. The shigureni filling below (beef with ginger, poetically deriving from ‘shigure’, meaning ‘autumn shower’), can also be served over hot rice, in onigiri or as the filling for beef croquettes.

Servings 2

Author Brendan Liew & Caryn Ng

Ingredients

Rice Buns

• 300 g (10½ oz) warm, cooked sushi rice
• 2 teaspoons potato starch
• 2 tablespoons neutral-flavoured oil

Shigureni (Ginger Beef)

• 1 tablespoon neutral-flavoured oil
• ½ onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons sake
• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamari (see Note)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 cm (¾ inch) knob of fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
• 250 g 9 oz thinly sliced beef (from the frozen section of Asian grocery stores; look for a cut with even marbling)
• handful of thinly sliced fresh or frozen burdock root (gobo; optional)

Suggested condiments

• mayonnaise
• lettuce
• American cheese
• tomato slices
• pickles such as benishoga (pickled ginger)

Notes

If you don’t have tamari, you can use soy sauce instead. The tamari does add extra umami to the beef, however.

Instructions

• Start by making the shigureni. In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until soft, but not coloured. Add the sake, mirin, sugar, tamari and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the ginger, then the beef. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the beef is no longer pink, then add the burdock root, if using. Cover with a cartouche (a round of baking paper with a small hole cut in the centre) and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the beef is tender and flavoured. Remove from the heat and reserve until required; the shigureni can be made a day in advance, then reheated.
• Mix together the rice and potato starch using a spatula, being careful not to break up the rice too much. Divide into four portions and wrap each in plastic wrap. Working with one portion at a time, press each portion firmly into an 8.5 cm (3¼ inch) cutter, for a perfectly round rice bun, making it as flat as possible, and allow to cool.
• Once cooled, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the rice buns for 2‒3 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp on both sides.
• If using mayonnaise and lettuce, spread mayonnaise on the bottom rice bun, then add the lettuce to protect the bun from going soggy. Warm the shigureni in a saucepan. Using a slotted spoon, take the beef, letting the liquid fall back into the pan, and place the beef on the rice bun. Dress with your desired condiments and top with another rice bun to form a burger.

This recipe was far easier to make at home than we expected, and the results were excellent! We used as condiments a gorgeous roasted garlic mayonnaise and crunchy little gem lettuce leaves, but skipped the suggestions to add tomato, cheese or pickled ginger.

We’d recommend cooking the rice patties at a slightly higher heat than indicated and you may need to fry them a little longer too, to get a little colour and crispness on the surfaces.

Find more Japanese recipes, cookbook reviews and travel content, here.

Kavey Eats received a review copy of Konbini: Cult recipes, stories and adventures from Japan’s iconic convenience stores by Brendan Liew and Caryn Ng from publishers Smith Street Books. Recipe reproduced with permission. Book’s food photography by Daniel Hermann-Zoll; home cooked version, Kavita Favelle.