The other day, my daughter said she wanted to have home-made hamburgers. One problem: Hamburger buns are rather hard to come by in a rural area line mine. When shopping together, I asked my daughter if English muffins would be OK instead of buns. Luckily, she said yes.
先日、娘が手作りのハンバーガーを食べたいと言いました。一つ問題が： ハンバーガーのバンズは私の住んでいる田舎ではちょっと入手困難。一緒に買い物に行った時に、娘にイングリッシュマフィンでもいいか訊きました。それでいいと言ってくれました。
So, yesterday, I bought about 500 g ground pork. (My default hamburgers are pork hamburgers!) I made 11 hamburger patties, using kinako (roasted soybean powder) as a secret ingredient. As I mentioned
here, kinako contains a large amount of glutamate acid (620 mg per 10 g). My family had some of them as part of supper last night. The sauce is a 1:1 mixture of tomato ketchup and tonkatsu sauce, plus some soy sauce, mirin, and sake.
そこで、昨日は、豚の挽き肉を約500 g買って（ハンバーグと言ったら、家では豚肉のハンバーグです！）、ハンバーグを11個作りました。隠し味としてきな粉を入れました。
ここで述べたように、きな粉はグルタミン酸が豊富です（10 g当たり620 mg)。昨日の夕飯にそのハンバーグを食べました。ソースは、トマトケチャップと豚カツソースを１：１で混ぜたものに、しょう油、みりん、お酒を少し足しました。
And, today, I made home-made hamburgers for lunch.
そして、今日は、昼食に手作りハンバーガーを作りました。
It's hard to see from the photo, but I placed a slice of cucumber pickled in vinegar on top.
写真では分りづらいですが、上に酢漬けのきゅうりを載せました。
Needless to say, the hamburgers were very delicious!
言うまでもなく、とても美味しいハンバーガーでした！
26 comments:
Hiroyuki, your hamburgers look fantastic!
I often make hamburgers at home and sometimes also with pork (I prefer pork rather than beef most of the time...). Kinako is another thing to explore, I have never used it.
I have just read the ancient post you linked to... People are very intelligent in Japan if they think ketchup is a rather healthy sauce: in France people think mustard is healthy and associate ketchup with fast food. The other day a nutritionist on tv was saying they are completely wrong...
Since I started making ketchup on my own I see how healthy it is (a tiny amount of sugar and no fat) and I know the good brands don't put much sugar either. Apparently cooked tomato sauce is even healthier than a raw tomato! And ketchup is like a concentrated tomato.
Sissi: Kinako is mainly used for sweets, and if you want to use it as a secret ingredient in cooking, limit its use to 1 tbsp (5 g) per person.
In Japan, almost everyone likes tomato ketchup. Of course, too much use of it can be unhealthy, just like too much use of soy sauce can be unhealthy.
Hiroyuki-san, what a coincidence! I also had hamburgers for supper. I used ground turkey instead of beef. Sandwich bread works nicely too if you don't have hamburger buns. But, you should use thick slices of bread. I love it when the bread/hamburger bun is slightly toasted in the oven...Oishi!
Anonymous: Turkey?! I don't think I've ever had turkey in my life! (For Christmas, the Japanese have chicken, intead of turkey.)
I also toasted the buns in the toaster oven for a few minutes or so, as instructed on the package.
In my 20s, I worked part-time at a McDonald's in Shibuya, Tokyo, and I still remember how to make hamburgers there.
Hiroyuki: I wonder if there is something like a global linked comfy food taste. In each and every country the kids love hamburgers: This food is soft, easy to swallow, sweet and salty, can be eaten by hand, vegetables are only for the looks or come in disguise as ketchup. Must be something like this what gets them hooked on.
I usually make a different kind of hamburger: ground beef or mixture 50:50 beef/pork, best grilled over charcoal, topped with cheese and onion rings and home made ketchup with pickled jalapeno slices; beneath: mustard, maybe a little pickled cucumber slice and shredded salad leaf. No more kids to take care(laugh)
Hiroyuki, I also often used to make things with ground turkey meat instead of beef or pork. Now that I learnt turkeys are given lots of hormones and other strange things to grow quicker (they have a very big growing potential), I turned myself to the chicken.
(Apparently, in the US they have modified genetically the turkeys so much they are not able to reproduce themselves, but need a laboratory assistance!).
Now I know why your hamburger looks so great :-)
Kiki: Hmm..., well, it's true that Japanese children like hamburgers, but they also like sushi, curry, ramen, spaghetti, gyoza, yakisoba, etc., etc., and for okazu to be eaten with rice, they like furikake, tarako (cod roe), shirasu (baby sardines), and others. I almost forgot to mention onigiri (rice balls), loved by all Japanese, young and old.
Sissi: I have just checked how expensive turkey is in Japan. It's as expensive as beef! No way I can have it regularly...
Hiroyuki: As long as it tastes good everything is fine. Japanese dishes are allways yummy. But your kids are raised with much more fish dishes then the average german kid. So there is a difference concerning the tastes and favorites. But some dishes are universal like hamburger or chicken nuggets. I don't know what your kids would say to something like roasted blood sausage with apple sauce and potatoe mash - I don't think this will become a well liked snack all over the world (but it tastes great).
Hiroyuki, I agree with Kiki. There are some dishes/food products love by children internationally. I have never seen a child who doesn't like hamburgers!
In the other hand, here I also agree with Kiki, you cannot imagine how many different fish dishes your children have in comparison with European children. I remember the shock a Japanese woman - who lives in Europe - had when I told her there are lots of people in Europe who hate fish and never eat it (by fish I mean any fish, prepared in any way, they simply wouldn't even touch it and I talk here about grown-ups!).
Don't bother with turkey. Turkey meat is like chicken, but usually tougher and drier... I am sure beef is a better choice when you have the dilemma on how to spend money on expensive meat ;-)
Sissi: I DO agree with Kiki and you, considering the fact that hamburgers are basically a combination of meat and bread.
Let me point out that in Japan, hamburgers have developed in very Japanese ways. Teriyaki, korokke, and tare katsu are just a few examples of hamburgers developed in Japan.
Tare katsu: http://www.mos.co.jp/menu/chiiki/tarekatu/
Kinpira:
http://www.mos.co.jp/menu/rice/kinpira/
We also have rice burgers, like this one:
http://www.mos.co.jp/menu/rice/toritukune/
I would't be surprised if aji nanbanzuke hamburgers were released!! (laugh)
Hiroyuki: Kinpira - simmered burdock, carrots, konnyaku, sesame, seaweed and rice paddies. Wow what a great healthy dish.
We eat different kinds of fish in rolls / buns: Marinated, smoked, baked. And guess what: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukkult/64805688/
This is Brathering (laugh)
You should put your aji nanbanzuke in hamburger buns too.
Kiki: Thanks for the link! I had found this site, and wondered if this dish was really popular in your country:
http://4travel.jp/traveler/kayanov/album/10189259/
I mean this one:
http://4travel.jp/traveler/kayanov/pict/12859682/
The blogger writes:
フランクフルト：鯖の南蛮漬けバーガー。
今回の最大のヒット。冷たくて酸っぱいのがナイス。
Frankfurt: Mackerel nanbanzuke burger.
The biggest hit this time. Nice because of its coldness and sourness.
Hiroyuki: First link shows a pickled and cooked ham hock (part of a pork leg) on potatoe mash and sour cabbage. Yes, people do eat it during autumn and winter (with lots of mustard). But not me, too much wobbly fat. I like ham hock grilled http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Schweizerhaus04.jpg
The second shows brathering. Gosch ist a delicatessen and fast food company (seafood only). Originated in Sylt - a german island. Now you can find Gosch at every central (train) station in germany there you can buy Fischbrötchen - rolls/buns with fish.
Hiroyuki, all these hamburgers look great! I will taste all of those when I finally go to visit Japan. I see even the Japanese fast food chains offer incredible dishes!
Kiki, I think I would love to visit a German train station and buy a fish sandwich. It would be a nice change from the transparent reconstructed ham sandwiches I see on most train stations here.
Kiki: Thanks for the information.
All the dishes shown in the travelog look delicious! I hope I can visit your country some day, and try all of these dishes!!
Sissi: MOS Burger clearly differentiates themselves from McDonald's. Some info can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOS_Burger
Hiroyuki: This japanese traveler must had visit breweries in bavaria only: lots of so called bavarian Brauhaus (brewery) and Biergarten (beer garden some kind of open air family restaurant) food - it shows all kinds of sausages, pork parts and beer and even pretzles (laugh). My chinese guest did'nt like pretzles at all - hard to chew and to swallow but the bavarian sausages (he ate them even for breakfast).
Hiroyuki, thank you for the link!
Hiroyuki san, I used to eat exactly the same English muffins (the Pasco brand) for my breakfast! I lightly toasted and ate them with tomato and cheese, or sometimes avocado and lemon. Thanks for the info about kinako. Other than katsuo bushi and tomato, I never knew it has umami substance too!
Arudhi: Here is a site that contains the glutamate acid contents of various foodstuffs:
http://wholefoodcatalog.com/nutrient/%E3%82%B0%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%83%9F%E3%83%B3%E9%85%B8/foods/%E9%A3%9F%E5%93%81/
As well as making good hamburger buns, english muffins are good for small, quick pizzas you can make in the toaster oven. Spread a little pizza sauce on the english muffin halves, top with cheese and any other cooked toppings, then toast in the toaster oven until the cheese melts. These were a favorite after school snack when I was a child.
Nerd Mom: Thanks for your suggestion! English muffins are rather expensive here in Japan, but it may be worth giving it a try.
I visited your blog! Like you, I am a slave to my two children (15 and 12) and to my wife!
Hiroyuki: I much prefer fish to meats & poultry. It's such a pity that in Australia meats and poultry are way cheaper than fish here; and the fish are fewer in variety also.
I mean, in term of fish variety, we do have some variety. But in terms of sashimi, they only sell lean tuna, salmon, and white fish (not sure what species specifically).
I've actually been wondering if some of the fish species unique to Australia are suitable for sashimi. Like marlin, john dory, swordfish, rockling, moreton bay bugs, yabbies, mussels, etc. But have never tried because I'm not sure if they are flash frozen on the fishing boat, to neutralize parasites and maintain flavour.
You could try asking the bakers at your local bakery to make you some brioche buns! This may work out to be better value than getting the muffins.
I think many top chefs from the US and UK, like Thomas Keller and Heston Blumenthal, like using brioche buns instead of the normal burger bun.
Here's a recipe by Heston, if you want to make your own next time :)
http://vimeo.com/28030554
P.S.: It's so cool to work at McDonalds! I have friends who work there, and they get discount on their lunches there! Did you get discount as well back then?
Anonymous: Thanks for the link. I wish I could have such delicious-looking burgers, but I'm such a lazy cook that I don't want to make them by myself (laugh).
Discount? I don't think they gave employees any discount when I was in my 20s.
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