Want to enjoy a nutritious and flavorful Japanese hambagu steak? Today, what we’re going to be making is hambagu. Hambagu is a Japanese-style hamburger and this one is made with all plant-based ingredients. Which in my opinion makes it extra-delicious! 

What is okara?

Okara is the leftover from soy milk production. And if you happen to make soy milk at home, it’s one of the easiest ways that you can reuse your leftovers from soy milk production.

It’s got a lot of nutrients in it, including protein and a lot of fiber.

This is what this stuff is right here if you’ve never seen it before

It’s kind of like mushy soybeans. There’s a little bit of moisture left in there.

That’s actually one of the things that we’re going to be getting rid of.

We’re going to lightly cook it on the stove to evaporate some of that residual moisture.

And then, we’re going to process all of these ingredients together in my food processor, form them into little patties, and then lightly pan-fry them with a little bit of sesame oil.

in case you didn’t know about okara 

because okara has a mild flavor (most was extracted in the soy milk), okara is one of the most versatile ingredients you can use in your japanese cooking.

okara makes a great replacement for potatoes for example, or a filling for gyoza or korokke as well as hambaagu (japanese style hamburger). and even better, if you LOVE your baked goods like bread, cake, cookies etc okara is the perfect way to make each of those things more nutritious than they could ever be without okara!

tofu okara hamburger steak?

Have you ever had hambagu before? And if you have, how did you like it?

And if you haven’t, chances are you’ve had a real American-style hamburger, or maybe even a french-style hamburger.

This is a little bit different because obviously, we’re not using meat, but it’s just as delicious.

This is a yoshoku (western cuisine) dish.

And this is the plant based Japanese version of the western hamburger.

you might not even miss the ‘real’ thing after trying this.

what makes these tofu okara hamburger steaks so special?

in this okara hamburger recipe we mixed little bit of brown rice and tofu for some extra soft and moist texture.

the shiitake mushrooms and their shiitake dashi help to elevate all of the flavors together thanks to the power of umami.

plus the secret ingredients miso and cumin.

miso paste and cumin both help to add a complex and rich flavor that pairs well with the other ingredients and especially the sauce.

once you try miso paste and cumin powder here, you might even add it to your regular hamburgers too, if you still cook those!

what’s the best way to enjoy the tofu hamburger steak?

as far as japanese hamburger steak sauces… there are many, off the shelf some of my favorites include tonkatsu sauce, chuno sauce, Worcestershire sauce or ketchup.   

You could try barbecue if you want something more American.

have any that i missed?

all you need to make this a complete meal is a bowl of miso soup, some steamed veggies and maybe a side of rice or roasted potatoes.

oishisoona!

Tips for making it a meal

Whenever I make this, I usually just serve it with a little bit of rice.

Maybe some steamed veggies, and some misoshiru or miso soup for a complete plant based Japanese meal

Also, dont be fooled this is a very filling meal because we use tofu, obviously.

And okara, as well, as brown rice all of which are nutritionally dense and filling foods!

japanese hamburger steak with tofu okara and shiitake with sauce video

       

japanese hamburger steak with tofu okara and shiitake (plant based recipe)

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• Author: patrick
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 20
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x
• Cuisine: japanese

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the tofu okara hamburger patties

• • 1 ½ cups okara
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 14 oz block firm tofu, drained
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • ¼ cup panko
  • 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp red miso paste
  • 4 rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, can reuse dashigara (leftover from making shiitake dashi)
  • ¼ – ½ tsp cumin powder
  • dash of salt and black pepper
  • dash of cayenne pepper
  • 2–3 Tbsp sesame or extra-virgin olive oil

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Instructions

1. 1. First using a medium sauté pan, add okara with a little oil and cook on medium low heat to remove excess moisture. After a minute or so, add in onions and cook together on low heat for 7-10 minutes until onions have just started to yellow, stir frequently so okara doesn’t burn.
   2. Meanwhile, combine tofu, rice, panko, flour, miso, mushrooms in a food processor. Process until uniform in texture and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
   3. Once the onion okara mixture is ready add to tofu mixture and mix thoroughly.
   4. If still hot allow to rest 10-20 minutes until cool enough to handle.
   5. Shape into the patties about ½ in. thick and 3-4 in. in diameter. Set aside.
   6. Heat 2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil on a large pan using medium heat. Once heated, add patties and cook until slightly browned and flip.
   7. Once flipped, repeat for the remaining patties.
   8. Once cooked, place on serving plate, top with sauce.
   9. Serve with steamed vegetables, potatoes and/or rice.

    

   For the sauce

   1. Mix together all ingredients in a saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir continuously and cook for 5-7 minutes.
   2. Once the alcohol smell is gone, remove from heat and set aside.

Notes

• If you’d like to take you hambaagu or any hamburger to the next level, always ensure you’ve got a nice browned crust! It makes a difference!
• You can use many different sauces for this, for example, just ketchup, tonkatsu sauce, chuno sauce, or even soy sauce or ankake!

🤔 question of the day

have you used okara in your japanese dishes yet? if so what’d you make? if not, think you’ll try this okara recipe? lmk in the comments!

PS if you like this recipe and want more tofu or soy based recipes, checkout tofu ryouri online and the soy workshop!