Japanese Hamburg Steak (Hambagu) - Delightful Plate

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Japanese Hamburg Steak is moist, juicy and served with a sweet tangy ketchup-based sauce. It is perfect for dinner, lunch box and also child-friendly.

a plate of Japanese hamburg steak, served with rice and vegetables

What is Japanese Hamburg Steak?

I like Japanese food as much as I like Vietnamese food. One of my favorite Japanese dishes to cook at home is hamburg steak/hamburger steak (hambagu). It consists of a tender and juicy ground meat patty, served with a tangy ketchup-based sauce. I read that this dish became popular in Japan in the 1960s, likely inspired by Western hamburgers.

This hamburg steak goes very well with white rice and a vegetable side dish. The sweet and tangy sauce balances the meatiness of the patty, and it is incredibly easy to make. I sometimes make this dish for dinner and then have the leftover for lunch the next day.

My recipe is adapted from the hamburg steak recipe in the Japanese Soul Cooking cookbook. I have added more herbs and seasonings and tweaked the ingredients to ensure the patties are flavorful and maintain a juicy texture that suits my preferences. I also used quite a bit of garlic although Japanese cooking doesn’t use a lot of it. To us Vietnamese, if there’s beef, there should be plenty of garlic too :).

For a Juicy and Flavorful Meat Patty

plates containing ingredients for Japanese Hamburg Steak (Hambagu)

The meat patty uses a mixture of ground beef and pork, which results in flavorful and juicy hamburger. In addition, having the eggs, milk and panko in the ingredients of the patty further helps keep it tender and juicy.

Please use Japanese panko breadcrumbs for the best results as they are lighter and fluffier than Western breadcrumbs. You can find it at Asian grocery stores. You can use either dairy milk or non-dairy milk (I have made this recipe with almond milk before).

Adding garlic and onions also enhances the sweetness and improve the texture of the hambagu. We will need to sauté the onions until translucent to let them develop sweetness and lose the raw edge. Don’t skip this step as it allows the onions to blend more seamlessly with the meat. You don’t want the rough texture of some undercooked onion pieces to ruin an otherwise delicious dish.

The Easiest Hamburg Steak Recipe

The main cooking steps are simple and straightforward. Once you have prepared all ingredients for the patty, mix them together for a couple of minutes until they are sticky and well combined. You can form the patties as big or as small as you want. For 1 pound of ground meat, I like to form 8 patties. Too big and too thick, they will take longer to cook.

When you fry the hamburger, use medium heat to give them enough time to cook through without burning. This may take 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the patties. If they are browned but not quite cooked through yet, you can cover the pan to help the inside cook thoroughly.

After pan-frying the patties, we’ll make the sauce right in the same pan with sake, ketchup and worcestershire sauce. If you don’t have sake, you can substitute white or red wine, or use stock for a non-alcoholic option. Simply deglaze the frying pan with the wine or stock to capture all the flavors from the patties and then mix in other ingredients to make the sauce.

How to Serve

a plate of Japanese hamburger steak (hambagu) with rice and veggies

You can serve this hamburg steak with rice and steamed vegetables, or any of the dishes below:

Suimono Clear Soup with Tofu and Vegetables
Avocado Tuna Salad with Soy Sauce Dressing
Iceberg Lettuce Salad with Ginger Dressing
Green Salad with Sesame Dressing

I’d love to hear what you think about the dish, so please feel free to leave a comment. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.