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.

 

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.

 

Totoro Rice

Totoro rice 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.

Here is the tutorial for Totoro Rice.

First, you must make the gray rice by mixing ground up black sesame seeds with rice. I typically use a small spice grinder and grind up about 2-3 T of black sesame seeds.

One you have made your gray rice, take a glob of the rice using plastic wrap, and form an oval out of it. You can also form the ears of the Totoro.

Next, make a mound of white rice and put another layer on as his belly.

I then cut out eyes with a straw using fish cake (kamaboko).

I cut out his eyeballs and the designs on his stomach from seaweed using a pair of scissors.
Next, decorate around Totoro using whatever you have. In this case, I used Korean Spinach Salad as the "grass" underneath him.

Finally, I cut out some carrot flowers and red bell pepper flowers. You can make the carrot flowers by cutting 3 notches into the side of the carrot and then slicing it.

With the tulips, you can cut with scissors the old fashioned way.

Definitely check out Anna the Red's Bento Factory for much more detailed tutorials on how to make Totoro bentos.

Totoro Rice

Totoro rice 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.

Here is the tutorial for Totoro Rice.

First, you must make the gray rice by mixing ground up black sesame seeds with rice. I typically use a small spice grinder and grind up about 2-3 T of black sesame seeds.

One you have made your gray rice, take a glob of the rice using plastic wrap, and form an oval out of it. You can also form the ears of the Totoro.

Next, make a mound of white rice and put another layer on as his belly.

I then cut out eyes with a straw using fish cake (kamaboko).

I cut out his eyeballs and the designs on his stomach from seaweed using a pair of scissors.
Next, decorate around Totoro using whatever you have. In this case, I used Korean Spinach Salad as the "grass" underneath him.

Finally, I cut out some carrot flowers and red bell pepper flowers. You can make the carrot flowers by cutting 3 notches into the side of the carrot and then slicing it.

With the tulips, you can cut with scissors the old fashioned way.

Definitely check out Anna the Red's Bento Factory for much more detailed tutorials on how to make Totoro bentos.

Totoro Rice Crispy Treats

I made these treats as part of a larger Japanese character based meal titled "Kyaraben on Steroids" featured in Foodbuzz's 24-24-24 in August 2009. Click here to see the entire meal.

Make Rice Crispy Treats according to the package instructions except stop at the step before you press the marshmallow-rice mixture into the pan. Instead, while the mixture is still hot, using either well oiled or wet hands, pick up glob of rice-marshmallow mix and shape it into a Totoro.

Dip the Totoros into melted chocolate.  Make melted chocolate by heating baking chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute. You may have to stir the mixture and heat for an additional minute. If the mixture is still hard to stir, you can add a little bit of canola oil to soften it up.

Let the Totoros rest while the chocolate hardens (it may not harden all the way if you add too much vegetable oil - so use it sparingly only if you have to!)
To make the eyes, take white chocolate chips and insert them (pointy side first) into the rice crispy. Using a toothpick, take a dab of the melted chocolate and dip on the eyeballs.

Serve!

Totoro Rice Crispy Treats

I made these treats as part of a larger Japanese character based meal titled "Kyaraben on Steroids" featured in Foodbuzz's 24-24-24 in August 2009. Click here to see the entire meal.

Make Rice Crispy Treats according to the package instructions except stop at the step before you press the marshmallow-rice mixture into the pan. Instead, while the mixture is still hot, using either well oiled or wet hands, pick up glob of rice-marshmallow mix and shape it into a Totoro.

Dip the Totoros into melted chocolate.  Make melted chocolate by heating baking chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute. You may have to stir the mixture and heat for an additional minute. If the mixture is still hard to stir, you can add a little bit of canola oil to soften it up.

Let the Totoros rest while the chocolate hardens (it may not harden all the way if you add too much vegetable oil - so use it sparingly only if you have to!)
To make the eyes, take white chocolate chips and insert them (pointy side first) into the rice crispy. Using a toothpick, take a dab of the melted chocolate and dip on the eyeballs.

Serve!

Keroppi Chocolate

I made these chocolates as part of a larger Japanese character based meal titled "Kyaraben on Steroids" featured in Foodbuzz's 24-24-24 in August 2009. Click here to see the entire meal.

To emulate his colors, I made "green" chocolate by melting white chocolate over a double boiler and then adding food coloring to it. Unfortunately, white chocolate does not melt as easily in the microwave, and I actually burned my white chocolate when I tried. Soooo . . I had to use my improvised " double boiler" (aka a metal bowl inside a pot of boiling water).

I made these Keroppi chocolates from a mold, which I bought years ago. So, I'm not sure if they are available anymore. Using the mold, here's what I did next.

Place the white chocolate chips as his eyes:

Add the green chocolate and then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Keroppi Chocolate

I made these chocolates as part of a larger Japanese character based meal titled "Kyaraben on Steroids" featured in Foodbuzz's 24-24-24 in August 2009. Click here to see the entire meal.

To emulate his colors, I made "green" chocolate by melting white chocolate over a double boiler and then adding food coloring to it. Unfortunately, white chocolate does not melt as easily in the microwave, and I actually burned my white chocolate when I tried. Soooo . . I had to use my improvised " double boiler" (aka a metal bowl inside a pot of boiling water).

I made these Keroppi chocolates from a mold, which I bought years ago. So, I'm not sure if they are available anymore. Using the mold, here's what I did next.

Place the white chocolate chips as his eyes:

Add the green chocolate and then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Sushi Rice

Here is a simple recipe for making sushi rice.

Ingredients

* 3 cups short-grain sushi rice
* 3 1/4 cups water
* 1/3 cup rice vinegar
* 3 Tbsp sugar
* 1 tsp salt
Make Japanese rice in a rice cooker. In a separate saucepan, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and heat just until the sugar is dissolved. When the rice is done and still hot, dump the rice into a wooden bowl.

Add the vinegar mixture and start mixing until incorporated. Ideally, you would blow a fan on the rice while you are stirring to cool the rice, but this is not necessary.

Sushi Rice

Here is a simple recipe for making sushi rice.

Ingredients

* 3 cups short-grain sushi rice
* 3 1/4 cups water
* 1/3 cup rice vinegar
* 3 Tbsp sugar
* 1 tsp salt
Make Japanese rice in a rice cooker. In a separate saucepan, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and heat just until the sugar is dissolved. When the rice is done and still hot, dump the rice into a wooden bowl.

Add the vinegar mixture and start mixing until incorporated. Ideally, you would blow a fan on the rice while you are stirring to cool the rice, but this is not necessary.

Keroppi Maki Rolls

Keroppi Maki Rolls 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.

These are simple cucumber rolls filled with sushi rice, cucumbers, and seaweed. In order to make sushi, you must first make sushi rice. Click here for a simple tutorial/recipe.

Cucumber "Keroppi"

Let's prepare the cucumber first. I like to use thinner Japanese pickling cucumbers. Slice the cucumber in half, and then into three equal parts as shown below. The "V" that you are creating will be his mouth.

 

Cut a piece of dried seaweed the same length as the cucumber and sandwich it between the three pieces as shown below:

Now let's make the eyes. Roll up two thin cylinders of rice with dried seaweed sheets. You will need a bamboo wrapper to wrap the maki rolls. Lay a layer of seaweed on the bamboo roll and put a small layer of rice onto the edge.

 Roll up the seaweed around the rice until the edge of the seaweed is touching seaweed on the other side. Try to make sure that the roll is wrapped as tightly as possible.

Make two of these "eyes" maki rolls.

Now assemble the big roll. Put a new layer of rice down onto the seaweed. :ay the two "eyes" rolls on top of the cucumber. Can you start to see Keroppi?

Now roll the whole thing together and slice! Voila! I used sesame seeds for the eye balls.

Keroppi Maki Rolls

Keroppi Maki Rolls 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.

These are simple cucumber rolls filled with sushi rice, cucumbers, and seaweed. In order to make sushi, you must first make sushi rice. Click here for a simple tutorial/recipe.

Cucumber "Keroppi"

Let's prepare the cucumber first. I like to use thinner Japanese pickling cucumbers. Slice the cucumber in half, and then into three equal parts as shown below. The "V" that you are creating will be his mouth.

 

Cut a piece of dried seaweed the same length as the cucumber and sandwich it between the three pieces as shown below:

Now let's make the eyes. Roll up two thin cylinders of rice with dried seaweed sheets. You will need a bamboo wrapper to wrap the maki rolls. Lay a layer of seaweed on the bamboo roll and put a small layer of rice onto the edge.

 Roll up the seaweed around the rice until the edge of the seaweed is touching seaweed on the other side. Try to make sure that the roll is wrapped as tightly as possible.

Make two of these "eyes" maki rolls.

Now assemble the big roll. Put a new layer of rice down onto the seaweed. :ay the two "eyes" rolls on top of the cucumber. Can you start to see Keroppi?

Now roll the whole thing together and slice! Voila! I used sesame seeds for the eye balls.