Japanese Hamburger (Domo-Kun)

Domo-kun Japanese Hamburger is part of a larger Japanese character based meal titled "Kyaraben on Steroids" featured in August's Foodbuzz's 24-24-24. Click here to see the entire meal.

This Japanese rendition of hamburger has ground beef mixed with panko and sauteed onions. It is usually served with a brown sauce (like Bulldog Sauce) or curry. This Asian-interpretation of a western dish has almost become a separate type of cuisine in the states, and you can find restaurants that serve Japanese style hamburgers in the US.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup panko breadcrumb
• pepper to season
• vegetable oil for flying

Saute onion in a small amount of vegetable and set aside. Mix together the egg and the milk. Once mixed, incorporate the panko crumbs. Put the raw ground beef in another bowl and add both the onions and the breadcrumb mixture to the beef. Mix together the entire mixture with your hands.

Shape the meat into squares (if you want to make Domo-kun) or just patties if you are making normal hamburgers.

Pan fry the patties in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes to brown the outside. Flip the burger and then add 1/4 cup water to the pan. Cover and steam the burger for a few minutes. Remove cover and continue letting it cook until the water has evaporated.

Serve with brown sauce (Tonkatsu sauce or Bull Dog Sauce) or make your own version by mixing ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to taste (start with a 1:1 mixture).

In order to make the mouth, cut up red bell peppers into squares. Using a peeler, peel off thin sheets of daikon. Using scissors, cut out the teeth.

Assemble all the pieces. I used black beans (from a can of Chinese black bean sauce) for eyes, but you can be creative and use whatever you can think of.