This burger is sweet and savory, served with crisp and fresh sesame slaw and Japanese mayo. It’s an excellent dinner for warm summer evenings, especially served with iced green tea or a chilled Sideral Farm Brewery Crossing the Streams beer (Open Top Coolship Saison with Yuzu Peel). We served ours with oven-baked, thick-cut fries. Delicious!
On the Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce is a simple Japanese sauce commonly used with fatty fish that has been grilled or broiled. It’s also sometimes used for hamburger steak, a Japanese dish similar to hamburgers but without the same accompaniment. Traditionally, teriyaki is made with just three ingredients, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin or sake. In America, teriyaki has been widely embraced for all kinds of foods and often has added ingredients like garlic, sesame, and pineapple juice. Though these alterations are yummy in their own way, this burger uses a more authentic sauce.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
You can make this recipe vegan by using a Beyond burger patty and replacing the mayo with vegenaise flavored with sesame oil and a little sugar.
Teriyaki Burger with Sesame Slaw
4
servingsThis burger is sweet and savory, served with crisp and fresh sesame slaw and Japanese mayo. It’s an excellent dinner for warm summer evenings, especially served with iced green tea or a chilled Sideral Farm Brewery Crossing the Streams beer (Open Top Coolship Saison with Yuzu Peel). We served ours with oven-baked, thick-cut fries. Delicious!
Ingredients
- Sesame Slaw
1 large carrot
1 medium cucumber
3 inch portion of a daikon radish
1 Asian pear
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp pickled ginger
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar OR monk fruit sweetener
2 tbsp sesame seeds
- Mayo Ingredients
1 egg yolk
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/3 cup safflower or canola oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar OR monk fruit sweetener
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
- Burger Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar OR monk fruit sweetener
4 burger buns
Directions
- Start by making the sesame slaw. Use a vegetable peeler to thinly slice the carrot into ribbons. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Thinly slice the cucumber into strips. Peel the daikon and Asian pear and slice them into thin strips. Mix the veggies and fruit together in a bowl and sprinkle with the slat. Use your hands to toss so the salt is evenly distributed, then let it rest for ten minutes.
- After resting, use your hands to squeeze the extra liquid from the veggies, a handful at a time. Discard the liquid. Mix the vinegar, sesame oil, and sweetener, then dress the veggies. Slice the sushi ginger and add it to the slaw along with the sesame seeds. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- To make the mayonnaise, it’s helpful to have two people, one to pour the oil and one to whisk. The secret to a good mayo is a fresh egg yolk, a thin stream of oil, and a vigorous whisk. Put the egg yolk and vinegar in a clean, dry bowl. Begin to whisk vigorously while a thin, steady stream (just a drizzle) of oil is poured into the bowl. It will take about a minute before you can tell if the mayo is emulsifying and thickening the way it should. If it’s still soupy after a minute, it will not emulsify properly, and you should start over. If it is thickening correctly, continue to drizzle the oil while whisking until you have about 2/3 cup of mayonnaise. Add the sesame oil, sweetener, Dijon, and salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Thoroughly combine the beef, pork, and salt in a bowl and divide into four patties. They should be thin and about 4.5 inches in diameter. Heat a skillet or frypan over medium-high heat and add the burgers. Cook until juices appear on top of the patties, then flip. Combine the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sweetener in a small bowl.
- When the undersides of the patties are browned, remove them from the pan and put onto a plate. Clean the extra fat from the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then let it thicken slightly. Add the burgers and cook for 30 more seconds on each side to coat with the teriyaki.
- To assemble the burgers, spread the mayo on the burger buns and place about a 1/2 cup of slaw on each bottom bun. Place the burgers on the slaw and then top with the other half of the bun. Serve hot, and enjoy!
