Hamburg Steak served with demi glace sauce
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Tsubame Grill’s menu display window
In Japan, the entire top floor of every department store is a collection of restaurants. There is a main restaurant called the family restaurant with many food selections, and there are also other restaurants specializing in sushi, tempura, ramen, Chinese, Korean, Italian, etc.
My Father was a movie buff and when he was available on weekends, he took his three girls to the movies. After movies, we went to the top floor of the department store, to the family restaurant for a late lunch. My two older sisters were adventurous and would order different dishes every time. However, I never betrayed my favorite dish, hanbāgu steak, which came with a choice of rice or spaghetti and some veggies on the side. To this day, when I go to Japan, without fail, I visit my favorite hanbāgu restaurant, Tsubame Grill, to make my visit official.
Japanese hanbāgu/Hamburg steaks are similar to what are known as Salisbury steaks in the USA. This German original was introduced to Japan by U.S. immigrants. Average Japanese home-cooks use the ingredients, beef, pork, or a blend of the two, mixed with sautéed diced onions, egg, soaked fresh breadcrumbs or panko (Japanese dried white breadcrumbs) in milk and seasonings. At Tsubame Grill, they use 7:3 ratio of beef and pork, briefly kneaded with other ingredients. After being briefly browned, each patty is wrapped in aluminum foil with house special sauce/demi-glacé, a piece or two of seasoned/caramelized fat and further cooked, in foil, over a grill.
In some higher end hotel restaurants, meats are not blended nor breadcrumbs added.
With this recipe, you are in for a high end version treat!
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Hanbagu Steak • ハンバーグステーキ • Hamburg Steak
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 300gr / 10.5 oz large onion minced
• 570gr / 1¼ lb lean ground beef
• 2 large eggs
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1~2 Tbsp parsley or herb of choice
• vegetable oil
• see [1] for serving & sauce options
DIRECTIONS
◊ Using a 10-inch non-stick skillet, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil on medium-heat and caramelize the diced onion (16~18 minutes). Turn off the heat. Empty onion into a medium-large bowl and set aside. Leave the skillet as is, it will be used again.
◊ To the bowl with onion, add meat, eggs, butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and parsley. (For home-style, you may add ½ cup of panko, well-soaked in 3 Tbsp whole milk.) Knead briefly to mix. Make 6 tight oval or round patties. Make a dent in the center of the patties, for a smooth, even-frying finish.
◊ Using skillet that was set aside, on medium-heat, add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil. When oil is heated, add the patties. Fry each side until browned and cooked through (no red in the center). If you prefer thicker patties, after browning both sides of patties, wipe oil in the skillet with paper towel, add 1/3 cup water and place a lid. Steam until the water is completely evaporated.
[1] Hanbāgu may be served as preferred… most popular is with demi-glacé sauce; Japanese version served with puréed radish/daikon with ponzu sauce; sautéed mushrooms with soy-sauce based sauce; tonkatsu sauce (a thick Worcestershire sauce); or occasionally, in Japanese curries. Another quick sauce is… after removing patties, add to the fond in the skillet, 2 Tbsp butter, 4 Tbsp ketchup, 4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 1 minute. (Also see below suggestions.)
~ どうぞめしあがれ • Douzo Meshiagare ~
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[1] Additional serving suggestions as shown in the above photo:
A. 4 Tbsp of wine evaporated in 4 Tbsp melted butter.
B. Topped with over-easy, fried egg.
C. Topped with sliced chives.
D. Topped with marinara sauce.
E. Topped with natural cheese.
F. Topped with a slice of tomato, covered with diced onion and anchovy.
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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Fae, Delicious. A nice memory of food in Japan and your family. I will try this – my family loves meat. We have a bit of ground elk at the moment that might work in the recipe. Warmly – Shanna
My boys will love this one for sure!!! HUGS, Sharon
Looks amazing Fae. I just want to dig right in!
Wow! Saved the link. I think you did right sticking with your hanbāgu dish when you were little. It’s a very mouth-watering looking food!
Love the story of you and your Father, and that hamburg steak looks delicious. What a wonderful memory and how amazing you can still go to the same spot when you are in Japan.
Konnichi wa Fae-san! O Genki desu ka? What part of Japan did you grow up in? Our family lived there for only a year but it was the best year ever. Japan is such an interesting country and I dearly miss being there and my dear friends. You did a fantastic job recreating this fun and easy dish. I also loved to go to the basement floor of every department store on B1 as this is where they had all of the groceries and of course the samples… LOL. Have a super weekend. BAM
Konnichiwa Bobbi-san! Do-mo arigatou gozaimasu. Genki desu yo!
We lived in Osaka from 1956~1965 and commuted to school in Kobe.
After that I have been to Japan many times and lived there again as an US expat for 2 years.
I have many friends there and many Japanese friends in the US.
I love Japan and feel half Japanese.
Oh, the basement of the department stores are heaven on this earth!
Now B1, B2, and B3 in some cases. One gets lost in there, which I never mind! 😀 )))
love the story of you and your dear father and your sisters and the tidbit glimpse of what it was like growing up in Japan …
This is what we can apply in homecooking, i like this version since i don’t like so much “filler” in my burger…
btw, sometimes i just hate that some fancy restaurant chopped wagyu beef and sell it as burger with 30$tagged, such a silly menu…..
Good job Fae!
How did I miss this when I was in Japan?! Thank goodness for Fae’s Twist & Tango, now I don’t have to go to Japan all over again for hanbāgu, although that wouldn’t be a bad idea.
I’ll have one of each, please!
Hanbāgu Steak is one of my favorite thing to order! I still remember the shopping center in Japan with all the yummy choices of restaurants on the top floor! Before I can go to Japan for another visit, guess I’ll have to try this recipe at home to ease my cravings.
Thank you so much for sharing.
How delicious! The photos are mouthwatering!
I love how the patty is served by itself. The flavor doesn’t get lost amongst buns or too many toppings.
I’ve never been to Japan. It’s on my list of destinations though… my husband and I are quite fascinated by the cuisine, the culture and the beautiful countryside. I love the look of this hamburg steak. It’s like the fanciest hamburger I’ve ever seen! Gorgeous photos. I need to make this as a special treat on one of our sushi nights xx
I love tsubame grill!! I can’t wait to try this hambagu steak recipe!!
I want to make it right now! But I have class :p
Thanks for this Fae!
Is it lunch yet? This made me hungry, lol! Yum, yum, yum! 😀
Love all the variations at the end! Sounds like delicious comfort food.
I’ll have mine with an egg, please 😉 Yummy!
Looks scrumptious!
I would love to eat that for lunch today, it looks delicious, Fae. I love the garnishing too! Have a lovely day!
Aww…this is my fave… I am drooling over your photos.
So delicious, love all the 6 serving options 😉
Thanks for sharing this!
This looks fantastic, Fae. I would go with rice with cucumbers and tomatoes on the side. Yummy!! This is so bad that I am craving for burger for several weeks and I am seeing more and more burgers everywhere! Haha! I need to make one and bookmark this for the one. This is a must try.