The Tetsuo Burger
Cooking Time
Prep Time
Difficulty
Cuisine
Even if the burger isn’t a particularly Japanese specialty, the Testuo Burger is a tribute to the land of the rising sun. The main ingredient in this dish is, after all, the Shiitake mushroom, as well as a few other key ingredients from Japanese cuisine: mirin and panko. You won’t even need to go hunt down an Asian shop; all of these are available in most supermarkets.
This recipe is fast, easy and, believe us, the taste of the Tetsuo Burger is inimitable! On a side note, Tetsuo Shima is a character from the Akira manga-series by Katsuhiro Otomo…
Shiitake mushrooms have been cultivated in Japan and China for hundreds of years; aside from the specific taste, this mushroom is brimming with nutrients: rich in vitamins B and D, iron, potassium, copper and zinc. It is also a great source of fibre and contains 7 of the 8 essential amino acids. In short, it’s a bit of a go-to in a vegan diet.
Moving on to panko…. Panko is a fusion of the word “pan” which means bread and, “ko” which means flour. In Japan, it’s usually used for frying, exactly like we use “bread crumbs”. In this case, it’s used to add texture to this burger.
Mirin is very similar to sake, although sweeter and less alcoholic. In Japan, it is only used as seasoning. Just like Shiitake mushrooms and panko, it is also available in most supermarkets. Keep cool and in a dark place.
So much for the technical specifications for the Tetsuo Burger! As far as the actual recipe goes, it’s super simple! After frying your mushrooms in a frying pan, add them to the rest of your ingredients and blend with a mixer of your choice (or work it through a potato masher) and that’s it! You can put your patties in the oven or fry them in a frying pan.
You can garnish with anything you like: a slice of vegan cheese, tomatoes, onions, lettuce… Enjoy with fries and why not test our soy cream-based mayonnaise? Itadakimasu! (“bon appétit” in Japanese).
The Tetsuo Burger
Equipment
- A mixer robot
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans +/- 200 gr drained
- 100 gr brown rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 150 gr Shiitake mushrooms chopped
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon linseeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika optional
- 60 gr panko
Instructions
Preparation
- Drain and rinse the beans. Dry them with a paper towel and leave them to dry.
Boil the rice
- Add 100 gr of brown rice to 250 ml water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, leave to simmer until all water has evaporated (+/- 10 - 15 minutes).
- Leave the rice to sit in the saucepan, uncovered.
- The rice should stay warm to retain its stickiness.
Preparing the linseeds
- Pound 1 tablespoon of linseeds in a blender or coffee grinder. You will need to reduce the seeds to a powder. In a small bowl, mix the linseed powder to 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 200°C. You can obviously also fry your burgers in a frying pan… your choice.
Cooking the Shiitake mushrooms
- Finely chop the onion and garlic cloves.
- Drizzle your olive oil into the pan, medium heat.
- Add onion (only the onion at this point) and sauté for a few minutes, until they become tender.
- Cut your Shiitake into small chunks.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes, until they are tender and golden. Adjust the heat as needed.
- Finally, add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and mirin. Stir and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so. Adjust the heat as needed, there should be no liquid left in the pan.
- Remove the pan from the cooker and leave to cool down.
Final step
- In a food processor, add the beans, powdered linseeds, mushrooms, rice, spices (salt, pepper, smoked paprika) and the panko.
- Mix everything thoroughly so that you end up with a consistent mixture, with some solid chunks (gives it more “bite”).
- Divide into 4 parts and make patties.
Cooking
- Put your patties on a baking paper-covered cooking tray.
- Cook in the oven for 8 minutes, flip them over and continue cooking for an extra 7 minutes
- You can add a bit of oil with a brush if you think your burgers are starting to look a bit too dry.
- About 2 minutes before removing the burgers from the oven, place the buns on the baking paper.
- Note: you can obviously also cook the burgers in a frying pan on low/medium heat.
Garnishing
- Garnish your burger according to your own taste with sauce, avocado slices, tomato slices, lettuce, slices of vegan cheese….
A recipe proposed by Maison Marmite
